The 

REriRED  MINISTER 


HIS   CLAIM 
INHERENT.  FOREMOST,  SUPREME 


OSEPH   B.  HINGELEY 


BV  4382  .H5 

Hingeley,  Joseph  Beaumont, 

1856-1929. 
The  retired  minister 


THE  RETIRED  MINISTER. nsfe 


JUN  ?.8  1915 


^-r. 


HIS  CLAIM 
INHERENT,  FOREMOST,  SUPREME 


£^CIML5S 


"^ 


JOSEPH  B.  HINGELEY 


THE    ABINGDON     PRESS 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright  Privileges  Relinquished  in  the  interest  of  Publicity 
JOSEPH  B.  HINGELEY 


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THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN  and  its  DEPOSITORIES; 

and  by  DENOMINATIONAL  PUBLISHING  HOUSES 

and  BOOK  DEALERS  generally 


TO  MY  FATHER 


THE  REV.  EZRA  HINGELEY,  D.D. 

1825-1894 


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FOREWORD 

The  supremacy  of  the  claim  of  the  Veteran  Preacher  is 
being  recognized  by  all  the  Churches.  The  new  adjectives 
applied  to  the  claim  are  significant :  "Inherent/'  "Foremost/' 
"Supreme." 

The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  1908  declared  the  claim  of  the  Retired  Minister  to  be 
''inherent/' 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  1909  adopted  Dr.  A.  T.  Pier- 
son's  word  and  declared  that  the  claim  was  ''-foremost." 

The  N'ational  Convention  of  Laymen  held  in  Indianapolis 
in  1913  called  it  "the  supreme  claim  of  the  Retired  Veterans." 

The  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  ses- 
sion at  Washington,  D.  C,  on  October  29,  1914,  demanded 
that  the 

Supreme  claim  should  he  given  the  Supreme  Place,  and 
closed  their  Address  and  Appeal  to  the  Church  as  follows : 

"We  pledge  ourselves  and,  as  far  as  we  may,  pledge  the 
whole  Church  to  full  and  loyal  cooperation  to  bring  in  this 
new  and  better  day  for  the  Church  we  love  and  the  men  we 
honor." 

This  book  contains  addresses  made  at  the  Inauguration 
Convention  by  men  to  whom  the  Churches  have  committed 
this  great  Cause,  as  well  as  by  other  leaders  whose  hearts  are 
full  of  affection  for  Retired  Ministers  and  whose  minds  and 
hands  are  employed  in  seeing  that  the  Veteran  Clergyman 
comes  to  his  own. 

As  you  read  you  will  discover  enthusiasm,  optimism  and 
a  resolve  that  aged  ministers  of  the  Gospel  shall  not  be  pro- 
vided for  as  objects  of  charity;  but  that  the  laymen  of  the 
Churches  in  whose  service  they  have  wrought,  shall  fulfill  the 
promise  of  a  comfortable  support  made  to  them  when  they 
took  their  ordination  vows,  and  shall  "see  them  through." 

We  are  under  special  obligation  to  distinguished  leaders 
of  great  Churches,  and  representatives  of  great  business  cor- 
porations whose  illuminating  articles  give  breadth  and  inter- 
est to  this  book  by  informing  us  as  to  what  other  institutions 
are  doing  to  provide  for  the  faithful  and  aged.     Especially 


6  FOREWORD 

are  we  indebted  to  the  Rev.  Alfred  J.  P.  McClure,  D.D.,  of 
the  Episcopal  Cliureh,  the  Rev.  William  II.  Foulkes,  D.D., 
of  the  Rreslnterian  Church,  the  liev.  Samuel  Lane  Loomis, 
D.D.  and  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Rice,  1 ).!).,  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Stewart,  D.D.,  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Matteson  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  the  Rev.  Henry  H.  Sweets  of  the  Southern  Presby- 
terian Church,  the  Rev.  Denis  Wortman,  D.D.  of  the  Re- 
formed (Dutch)  Church,  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Warren,  D.D.,  of 
the  Disciples  of  Christ  and  to  the  many  other,  contributors, 
ministers  and  laymen,  whose  labors  have  made  this  book 
possible. 

In  the  name  of  the  Retired  Ministers  we  extend  our  grate- 
ful thanks  to  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  The  Continent,  The 
Altemus  Co.  and  others,  who  permit  the  use  of  copyright 
matter;  and  to  men  of  large  affairs  like  Mr.  Renner  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Lines,  Mr.  Pew  of  the  Youngstown  Steel 
Company,  Mr.  Campl)ell  of  South  Bend,  Judge  Oliver  H. 
Horton  of  Chicago,  and  others  Avho  have  rendered  valuable 
service.  Their  willingness  to  share  their  time  and  labors 
in  such  a  Cause  is  an  indication  of  the  hold  which  the  retire- 
ment competency  idea  has  upon  the  business  world.  The 
Rev.  J.  Clayton  Youker  reported  the  several  addresses  and 
assisted  in  the  preparation  of  the  book,  and  the  Rev.  M.  E. 
Snyder,  Ph.D.,  and  the  Rev.  Charles  R.  Oaten,  secretaries, 
rendered  valuable  and  distinguished  service. 

We  have  added  chapters  which  have  appeared  in  the 
columns  of  the  ''Veteran  Preacher"  and  in  Church  periodi- 
cals; also  music  and  poetry  and  statistics,  with  the  intention 
of  making  this  book  a  Compendium  to  which  the  laity  and 
ministry  may  turn  for  information  as  to  the  Cause  of  the 
Retired  Minister. 

The  Abingdon  Press  has  given  to  this  book  a  printed  form 
worthy  of  its  subject  matter ;  for  we  expect  that  "The  Retired 
Minister"  will  be  welcomed  to  the  shelves  of  ministers' 
libraries  and  to  the  homes  of  Christian  people. 

Joseph  B.  Hingeley. 

Evanston,  Illinois. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I.    THE  CLAIM  INHERENT 

CHAPTER  I.    THE  MERITS  OF  THE  CASE 

PAGE 

1.  The  Task  Golden Quayle 13 

2.  Paving  the  Last  Mile Keeney 19 

3.  Road  of  the  Loving  Heart Welch 27 

4.  Love's  Recompense Fanny  Crosby ...  29 

5.  A  Retiring  Competency  and  the  Call 

TO  Preach Birney 31 

6.  A  Retiring   Competency  and   IVIinis- 

TERiAL  Efficiency McConnell 39 

7.  Savings  vs.  Efficiency Van  Cleve 43 

8.  Debt  of  the  Nation  to  the  Ministry.  .  .  .     Lidstone 53 

9.  The  Pastor's  Family Stone 61 

10.  Why  a  Service  Pension? Miller 67 

11.  A  Dependable  Pension Campbell 79 

12.  The  Church's  Obligation Sweets 85 

13.  The  Shepherd  Who  Watched Page 89 

14.  Should  Ministers  Marry? Harland 103 

15.  Not   Charity  but  Justice Cooke Ill 

16.  Stop!  Look!  Listen! Hingeley 117 


CHAPTER  II.    OLD  AGE 

PAGE 

1.  Give  Them  the  Flowers  Now 124 

2.  Some  Advantages  of  Growing   Old Thomas 125 

3.  Seven  Ages  of  a  Minister Tipple 131 

4.  The  Senior  Retired  Minister 134 

5.  Does  the  Ministry  Pay? Higgins 135 

6.  The  Old  Man  and  the  Child Tiplady 139 

7.  William's  Superannuation Harris 143 


8  CONTENTS 

PART  II.    THE  CLAIM  FOREMOST 

CHAPTER  I.  THE  CHURCH'S  PROGRAM 

PAGE 

1.  The  Foremost  Claim Pierson 149 

2.  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church McClure 151 

3.  The  Presbyterian  Church Foulkes 165 

4.  The  Presbyterian  Church  (Southern)  .  .     Sweets 175 

5.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.     Stewart 183 

6.  The  Baptist  Church Matteson 195 

7.  The  Congregational   Program Rice 205 

8.  The   Congregational  Church Loomis 207 

9.  Disciples  of  Christ Warren 213 

10.  The  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church Wortman 219 

11.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church Hingeley 225 


CHAPTER  11.  THE  PROGRAM  OF  BUSINESS 

page 

1.  The  Pennsylvania  Lines Renner 233 

2.  Railroad  Pension  Systems — Table Foulkes 238 

3.  The  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad 239 

4.  Industrial  Pension  Systems Foulkes 240 

5.  What  Corporations  are  Doing Pew 241 

6.  The  First  National  Bank,  Chicago 244 

7.  Teachers'  Retirement,  New  York  City  .     Hartwell 247 

8.  Teachers'  Pension  Funds — Table Foulkes. 249 

9.  Old- Age,    Mothers'     and     Government 

Pensions Applegate 251 

10.  Two  Workmen:  Likeness  and  Contrast 258 


CHAPTER  HI.   POST-MORTEM  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WEALTH 

page 

1.  Influence  Made  Immortal Warren 262 

2.  Wills Horton 263 

3.  "Safe"  and  "Sound"  Wills Remsen 274 

4.  Form  and  Application  Blank   for  Life 

Annuity  Bonds 277 

5.  Banker   Oliver's  Investment 279 

6.  List  of  Annual  Conference   Organizations 289 


COXTENTS  9 

PART  III.     THE  CLAIM  SUPREME 

CHAPTER  I.  EPISCOPAL  LEADERSHIP  AND  CONFERENCE 

PAGE 

1.  The  Bishops'  Address  and  Appeal 295 

2.  Episcopal  Addresses  to   General  Conferences 301 

3.  Voices  Silent  but  Persuasive 303 

4.  The  Episcopal  Round  Robin 305 

5.  The  Inauguration  Conference 315 

6.  Building  on  a  Good  Foundation Cranston 321 

7.  A  Conquering  Campaign Berry 325 

8.  We  Shall  Win McDowell 329 

9.  Greetings  to  the  Convention Anderson 333 

10.  Response Van  Cleve 335 


CHAPTER  11.     THE  1915  CAMPAIGN 


PAGE 

1. 

History  of  the  Campaign 

Hingeley. .  .  . 

....339 

2. 

Some  New  Things 

....344 

3. 

Approaching  a  Crisis 

Transue .... 

....349 

4. 

German  Conferences 

Mulfinger. .  . 

....351 

5. 

Ein  Wohlverdienter  Lohn 

Loeppert. .  .  . 

....355 

6. 

Swedish  Conferences 

Young 

....359 

7. 

VoR  Gjeld  til  de  Udtjente  Predikanter 

Madscn 

....361 

8 

Colored  Conferences 

Dean 

....363 

9. 

Cooperation — The  Bishops 

Neely 

....365 

10. 

Cooperation — District  Superintendents 

Parkin 

....367 

11. 

Cooperation — Conference         Organiza- 

1   « 

tions  

Morse 

369 

T^ 

Conference  Leadership 

Slease 

Hingeley .  .  . 

375 

13. 

The  Campaign  Program 

....379 

14. 

The  Campaign  Cooperative,   Intensive, 

Extensive 

Dorion 

....383 

15. 

Official  Family — Round  Robin: 

Publishing  Agents 



....388 

Editors 

....389 

Corresponding  Secretaries 

....396 

16. 

"Why  Don't  You  Speak  for  Yourself?" 

....402 

17. 

We'll  Do  It! 

Oldham 

....403 

10  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  III.     AGENCIES 

PAGE 

1.  The  Book  Concern Mairis 409 

2.  The  Chartered  Fund Hitchcock 413 

3.  Annual  Conference  Endowments Greenfield 415 

4.  Contributions  from  Pastoral  Charges..     Clemans 421 

5.  Board  of  Conference  Claimants Hamilton 425 

6.  Veterans  of  the  Cross  Fellowship Cooper 429 

CHAPTER  IV.     HISTORICAL 

page 

1.  Aged  Pastors  Must  be  Provided  For.  .  .     Echman 436 

2.  Veterans'  Rank  and  Rights  Restored  . .     Keeney 437 

3.  Early  Methodist  Stewardship Calkins 445 

4.  Cooper  and  Dickins Kranlz 451 

5.  John  Street  Church Johnston 455 

6.  St.  George's  Church Hughes 461 

7.  Deferred  Payments Watson 467 

8.  Disciplinary  Provisions 470 

PART  IV.     THE  CLAIM  ILLUSTRATED 

CHAPTER  I.     SCRIPTURAL  TREATMENT 

PAGE 

1.  Helpful  Homiletic  Hints Sweets 479 

2.  Modern  Psalms '.  .  .     Foulkes 501 

CHAPTER  II.    STORY  AND  SONG 

page 

1.  The  Happy  Man Collins 505 

2.  Old  Preacher's  Soliloquy Brown 515 

3.  Our  Veterans Greenfield 526 

4.  The  Light  Brigade Kipling 528 

5.  Veterans! Hough 530 

6.  Different  Ways  We  Treat  Them Welch 531 

7.  The    Circuit  Preacher Townsend 533 

8.  Quitting  Too  Soon Guardian 534 

9.  Wanted — A  Minister's  Wife 536 

10.  A  Strong  Church Matteson 537 

11.  Miscellaneous 539 

12.  Proceedings  Washington  Convention.  .  .     Snyder 553 

13.  A  Summary Hingeley 568 

14.  Music 572 

15.  Index 577 


A  RETIRING  COMPETENCY  FOR  THE 
RETIRED  MINISTER 


PART   I 

THE  CLAIM  INHERENT 
UNDERLYING  PRINCIPLES 

The  Church's  Recognition  that  the  Right  to 
a  Comfortable  Support  Inheres  in  the  Gospel 
Ministry,  is  Justified  by  the  Character  of  the 
Ministry,  the  Demands  Made  on  it,  and  the 
Service  it  Renders;  and  calls  for  an  adequate 
Retiring  Competency  for  the  Old  Age  of  Ministers 
of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  I.   THE  MERITS  OF  THE  CASE 

PAGE 

1.  The  Task  Golden Qumjle 13 

Lost  Magic IS 

2.  Paving  the  Last  Mile Keeney 19 

Old  Age.     Longfellow 26 

3.  Road  of  the  Loving  Heart Welch 27 

An  Old  Minister.     McCoy 28 

4.  Love's  Recompense Fanny  Cro.shy ...   29 

5.  A  Retiring  Competency  and  the  Call 

to  Preach Blrney 31 

A  Pastor.     HoUand 37 

A  Riper  Youth 38 

A  Rain  of  Roses.     Lorrman 38 

6.  A  Retiring  Competency  and   Minis- 

terial Efficiency McConnell 39 

7.  Savings  vs.  Efficiency Van  Cleve 43 

8.  Debt  of  the  Nation  to  the  Ministry.  .  .  .     Lidstone 53 

9.  The  Pastor's  Family Stone 61 

Army  Chaplains 66 

10.  Why  a  Service  Pension? Miller 67 

Requisites  of  a  Preacher.     Ken 78 

11.  A  Dependable  Pension Campbell 79 

12.  The  Church's  Obligation Sweets 85 

13.  The  Shepherd  Who  Watched Page 89 

The  Village  Clergyman.    Goldsmith.  .  1C2 

14.  Should  Ministers  Marry? Harland 103 

National  Monuments.     Van  Dyke.  .  .110 

15.  Not   Charity  but  Justice Cooke Ill 

Why  Don't  You  Speak  for  Yourself?.  116 

16.  Stop!  Look!  Listen! Hingeley 1 17 

Veterans  of  the  Cross.     Cooper 122 


THE  TASK  GOLDEN 

BISHOP 
WILLIAM  A.  QUAYLE,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


It  is  lovely  to  be  at  the  vortex  of  things.  It  is  rather 
radiant  to  be  at  the  center  of  the  storm ;  and  I  confess  in  the 
privacy  of  this  presence  that  I  fellowship  with  Brother  Berry 
in  his  delight  in  magnitudes. 

Looking  After  Our  Immortality 

To  get  hold  of  a  thing  that  is  big  enough  to  get  hold  of 
us  is  magnificent.  To  go  winking  and  blinking  around 
about  little  business  is  not  worth  the  winks  and  the  blinks; 
but  to  get  hold  of  a  sea  and  tuck  your  fingers  into  its  mane, 
and  see  the  thing  leap  and  want  to  be  riderless,  and  for  you 
to  sit  and  ride  it  to  the  shore,  0  that  is  worth  while.  It 
is  worth  while  to  be  in  a  great  Church  with  a  great  God 
steering  to  a  great  eternity;  and  the  thing  I  think  of  pretty 
often  is :  Who  is  going  to  keep  us  to  our  immortality  ?  Wlio 
is  going  to  keep  us  to  our  bigness?  Who  is  going  to  look 
after  our  vastnesses?  Who  is  going  to  tell  us  with  insist- 
ent voice  that  we  are  sublime  ?  Who  is  going  to  tell  us  that 
death  does  not  count  any,  if  we  live  a  right  life?  Who  is 
going  to  point  the  finger  at  the  majesty  we  are  and  the 
majesty  we  are  to  be?  Who  is  going  to  help  us  look  after 
our  immortality? 

There  are  many  who  will  help  us  to  look  after  our  mor- 
tality: the  grocer  will  help  us,  and  the  doctor  will  help  us, 
and  the  shoe  merchant  will  help  us,  and  the  railroad  man 
will  help  us,  and  the  statesman  will  help  us,  and  the  edu- 
cator will  help  us,  and  the  college  will  help  us;  but  who  is 
going  to  help  us  look  after  the  Godward  ?  Who  is  going  to 
help  us  look  after  our  everlastingness ?  Answer:  The 
preacher  is  going  to  help  us;  he  is  the  man  that  keeps  tune 
with  the  infinite;  he  is  the  man  who,  though  he  may  not 

13 


14  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

spell  the  best  and  though  he  may  not  be  edueated  the  most, 
has  heard  in  his  own  heart  the  deathless  music,  and  pitches 
the  tune.  What  people  need  is  the  tune  of  their  everlasting- 
ness.  I  remember  so  many  times  when  people  would  say  to 
me,  "Preach  on  the  things  of  the  day;  preach  on  the  things 
that  people  are  thinking  about  during  the  week" ;  but  I  never 
did,  because  they  thought  about  those  things  themselves  and 
did  not  need  to  have  me  help  them.  But  on  Sunday  I  began 
to  take  up  the  harp  of  life  and  smite  upon  some  of  the  strings 
with  what  little  might  I  knew,  and  began  to  make  men  dream 
of  deathlessness ;  and  then  men  got  religion.  The  thing  we 
are  after  is  to  get  hold  of  our  own  souls;  to  know  that  life 
leads  us  so  long  a  distance,  that  the  run  is  so  very  far,  so 
very  expeditious,  and  so  very  glorious.  0  my  heart,  canst 
thou  take  to  the  race  ?  0  my  heart,  canst  thou  make  the  run  ? 
0  my  heart,  Avho  is  going  to  get  thee  to  the  summit  of  the 
sky,  and  0  my  heart,  who  is  going  to  get  thee  back  behind 
the  stars,  and  0  my  heart,  who  is  going  to  get  thee  over 
where  the  angels  stay,  and  0  my  heart  who  is  going  to  get 
thee  where  Christ  walks  the  road  every  day  and  bringeth 
a  morning  to  every  shadowy  night?  Who  is  going  to  get 
thee  there?  And  the  answer  is:  The  preacher  is  going  to 
help  us,  and  so  the  preacher  is  the  most  manifest  majesty 
of  all  men. 

The  Preachers 

I  think  of  the  funny  men  I  have  had  preach  to  me,  and  I 
remember  how  they  did  tear  the  beautiful  garment  of 
dramatic  expression  into  small  ribbons  and  did  not  care  about 
the  ribbons  at  all;  and  I  remember  when  1  heard  them  fall 
on  the  "whoms"  and  the  "whos,'^  and  all  the  ridiculosities 
of  speech;  yet  I  remember  some  of  those  men,  who  could  not 
get  it  arranged  whether  they  should  say  "who"  or  "whom," 
who  brought  you  up  until  you  fell  on  the  outstretched  Hand, 
and  caught  the  foot  of  the  cross  of  God.  I  would  not  say 
that  I  like  people  to  be  ungrammatical,  but  I  would  rather 
hear  vsome  people  who  are  ungrammatical  and  divine,  than 
hear  other  people  who  are  grammatical  and  utterly  human. 
The  preacher  that  came  over  to  me  and  said,  "Billy,  you 
belong  with  Jesus,"  that  is  the  fellow.  He  was  a  kind  of  a 
farmer  fellow,  and  he  grew  all  crops  but  hair,  and  he  wore 


THE  TASK  GOLDEN  15 

farmer  clothes,  and  spoke  about  farming  and  sowing;  and 
he  said  that  there  was  a  sower  wlio  went  out  to  sow,  and 
there  was  a  great  harvest;  and  everyl)ody  paid  heed.  And 
then  he  came  and  put  his  hand  on  my  shoukler  and  said, 
"Billy,  God  wants  you  to  be  one  of  His  farmers,"  and  I  came 
up  the  aisle  of  the  schoolhouse,  not  to  the  chancel — there 
wasn't  any — there  wasn't  anything  but  a  dictionary  in  the 
schoolhouse,  so  I  came  up  and  bowed  at  the  dictionary;  and, 
0  me,  the  wind  was  wild  that  night,  it  was  as  stormy  as  on 
the  wide  sea,  the  storm  that  beat  upon  that  prairie  school- 
house;  the  wind  had  its  chance,  and  blew  like  it  did  on  the 
Sea  of  Galilee ;  and  Christ  came  over  and  said,  "Boy,  what  do 
you  want  down  here  ?"  and  I  said,  "I  want  Thee,  0  Christ." 
And  He  said,  "I  have  come." 

Oh,  people,  there  isn't  anybody  who  ever  drew  breath,  that 
knew  how  to  draw  the  bow  of  steel  and  aim  the  arrow  of 
strange  words,  golden  and  beautiful,  who  can  use  words 
beautiful  enough  for  the  preachers  of  God;  and  though  they 
had  small  salaries  and  large  families  and  few  belongings  and 
scant  wealth,  they  had  God.  In  their  dreams  they  talked 
about  God.  Said  an  old  preacher,  in  my  hearing  at  a  Con- 
ference, "Brother  Quayle,  I  am  so  old,  and  have  no  business 
to  be  here;  I  have  been  superannuated  for  years,  and  I  can- 
not preach;  and  0,"  he  said — and  his  voice  was  as  wistful 
as  a  mother's  calling  the  name  of  her  dead  daughter;  if  you 
have  ever  heard  that  you  will  never  forget  it — "'Brother 
Quayle,  sometimes  in  my  sleep  in  the  night  I  awaken  myself 
from  my  slumber  because  I  dream  I  am  preaching." 

Thanks  be  to  God  for  the  preachers  who  thought  so  little 
of  themselves  because  they  thought  so  much  of  Christ! 
Thank  God  for  the  preachers  who  had  not  more  sense  than 
to  go  around  visiting  everybody,  and  did  not  know  that  any- 
l)ody  was  lowly,  did  not  know  that  there  were  lowly  people  in 
the  world,  but  thought  that  there  were  only  high  people  in 
the  world  because  Christ  died  for  them,  and  said  to  every 
one,  "Brother,  Christ  spoke  your  name  in  my  ear;  and  He 
said,  ^He  knew  you  all ;  come  on  over,  come  on  over !' " 

A  Task  Worth  While 

Brother  Cranston,  I  think  it  is  perfectly  beautiful  to  con- 
sider this  last  thing  which  we  have  tackled.    We  have  tackled 


16  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

everything  we  could  think  of,  and  something  else.  If  there 
is  anything  we  have  not  tackled  I  wonder  what  on  earth  it  is. 
We  take  a  collection  for  every  sort  of  thing,  and  even  for 
the  folk  that  represent  the  illimitableness  of  the  unknown 
we  take  a  collection.  Preachers  take  all  the  collections  for 
everybody  else,  but  never  take  a  collection  for  themselves. 
They  have  been  so  busy  caring  for  other  people  they  forgot 
themselves.  I  think  that  is  the  greatest  credential  a  Meth- 
odist preacher  ever  had :  He  was  busy  at  the  Task  Golden.  An 
old  man  who  had  whiskers  long  enough  to  anchor  by  put 
both  hands  into  his  whiskers  and  said,  "Brother  Quayle,  I 
have  been  preaching  sixty  odd  years,  and  for  over  fifty-eight 
years  I  never  came  home  but  a  woman  I  loved  met  me  at 
the  door ;  and  now,"  he  said,  with  a  great  gasp  and  sob,  "no- 
body meets  me  at  the  door";  and  he  said,  "Brother  Quayle, 
I  did  not  have  enough  money  to  pay  for  her  funeral;  but  if 
I  had  all  the  money  that  the  churches  I  have  served  owed 
me  and  did  not  pay  me,  I  would  have  ten  thousand  dollars, 
plus."  0  Church  of  the  living  God,  we  have  got  to  be  honest ; 
we  have  got  to  be  square  for  tlie  sake  of  ordinary  virtue,  but 
0,  we  have  got  to  do  the  square  thing ! 

At  a  certain  foreign-speaking  Conference  I  was  guest 
in  a  certain  preacher's  house.  I  felt  that  it  was  an  im- 
position; and  after  a  moment  I  said,  "Living  is  up,  politi- 
cians notwithstanding  to  the  contrary;  let  me  go."  "No, 
you  must  stay  here,"  he  said;  "my  wife  is  the  daughter  of  a 
Methodist  preacher,  and  she  says  you  have  to  stay  here." 
So  I  said,  "What  your  wife  says  stands;  I  will  stay,"  and 
soon  we  were  talking  about  her  father,  the  preacher,  and 
about  her  mother,  the  preacheress,  and  she  said  this  thing 
which  I  thought  was  sweet.  She  said  that  her  mother  was 
dying  with  inflammatory  rheumatism,  and  they  moved  her 
from  room  to  room  downstairs,  and  the  pain  was  so  terrible 
she  could  not  stay  in  one  room  long,  and  they  moved  her 
around  so  tenderly,  and  she  said,  "One  day  mother  said, 
'Take  me  upstairs.^  And  the  preacher  said,  *Why,  mother, 
sweetheart,  we  cannot  take  you  upstairs;  the  doctor  says  the 
least  jar  might  send  the  rheumatism  to  your  heart.'  She 
said,  'Take  me  upstairs.' "  Women  do  not  consider  what 
the  doctors  say  nor  what  the  preachers  say;  when  they  want 
to  do  a  thing  that  is  the  thing  they  want  to  do.     The  father 


THE  TASK  GOLDEN  17 

said  to  the  daughter,  "You  speak  to  your  mother";  and  the 
daughter  said,  "Mother,  we  cannot  take  you  up";  and  not  any 
of  them  would  touch  her  to  take  her  up;  so,  being  a  woman, 
she  went  upstairs.  The  husband  and  the  daughter  came  tag- 
ging after  and  said,  "Mother,  you  will  die  on  the  stairs"; 
and  she  panted  away  on  the  stairs,  but  never  turned  back — 
did  a  woman  ever  turn  back  when  she  had  set  her  heart,  on 
going?  Finally  she  got  upstairs,  and  went  into  a  little 
room  that  had  only  one  window;  and  they  expostulated, 
"What  makes  you  go  into  the  poorest  room  in  the  house?" 
And  she  smiled.  It  transpired  that  the  next  day  was  Sunday, 
and  it  transpired  that  that  little  window  looked  straight  into 
the  back  of  the  church  and  through  that  church  up  to  the 
pulpit,  and  so  that  when  she  was  lying  in  bed,  propped  up 
on  the  pillows,  and  her  husband  came  into  the  pulpit  on  Sun- 
day morning,  she  could  see  him.  And  she  had  climbed  the 
stairs  in  jeopardy  of  her  life  that  she  might  see  her  husband 
climb  into  the  pulpit  and  stand  behind  the  holy  desk  and 
open  the  Holy  Book ;  and  she  lay  there  smiling,  and  the  next 
day  she  was  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

0  Church  of  our  supreme  love,  watch  your  minister  climb 
into  the  pulpit  and  open  the  Holy  Book !  0  Methodist 
Church,  climb  the  stairs  and  watch  your  preacher  preach, 
because,  peradventure,  he  will  open  the  truth  of  God  so  that 
mortality  shall  be  swallowed  up  of  life,  and  things  little  shall 
look  large,  and  the  glory  of  God  shall  come  upon  the  heart. 
I  think  the  Methodist  Church  is  going  to  love  its  preacher 
in  the  pulpit  out  loud  so  he  will  know  that  somebody  is 
hungry  to  see  him  and  hungry  to  hear  him  and  hungry  to 
love  him;  and  by  and  by,  when  he  is  clean  tired  out,  will 
give  him  a  chance  to  rest,  and  say  to  him,  "Beloved,  sit  down 
and  rest  a  while,  until  you  get  so  rested  up  that  you  can  climb 
the  stairs  yourself  and  land  at  the  top  in  the  arms  of  God." 

William  A.  Quayle. 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 

The  Preacher's  Call 

"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  the  Lord 
hath  anointed  me  to  preach." — Isa.  61.  1. 

"Unto  me  is  this  grace  given  that  I  should  preach." — 
Eph.  3.  8. 


18  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 


LOST  MAGIC 

The  Bells  of  Louvain,  cast  a  century  ago  by  the  famous  molder, 
Van  Den  Steyn,  had  long  since  lost  their  sweetness,  before  they 
were  destroyed  in  the  ruined  Belgian  city. 

Sadly  he  shook  his  frosted  head, 

Listening  and  leaning  on  his  cane. 
"Nay,  I  am  like  the  bells,"  he  said, 

"Cast  by  the  molder  of  Louvain," 

Often  you've  read  of  their  mystic  powers, 
Floating  o'er  Flanders'  dull  lagoons; 

How  they  would  hold  the  lazy  hours 
Meshed  in  a  net  of  golden  tunes! 

Never  such  bells  as  those  were  heard 

Echoing  over  the  sluggish  tide: 
Now  like  a  storm  crash,  now  like  a  bird. 

Flinging  the  carillons  far  and  wide. 

There  in  Louvain  they  swing  to-day. 

Up  in  the  turrets  where  long  they've  swung; 

But  the  rare  cunning  of  yore,  they  say. 

Somehow  has  dropped  from  the  brazen  tongue. 

Over  them  shines  the  same  pale  sky. 
Under  them  stretch  the  same  lagoons; 

Out  from  the  belfries,  birdlike,  fly. 
As  from  a  nest,  the  same  sweet  tunes. 

Ever  the  same,  and  yet  we  know 

None  are  entranced  these  later  times 

Just  as  the  listeners  long  ago 

Were  with  the  wonder  of  their  chimes. 

Something  elusive,  as  viewless  air, 

Something  we  cannot  understand 
Strangely  has  vanished  of  the  rare 

Skill  of  the  molder's  master  hand. 

So  when  you  plead  that  life  is  still 

Full  as  of  old  with  tingling  joy. 
That  I  may  hear  its  music  thrill 

Just  as  I  heard  it  when  a  boy, 

All  I  can  say  is:  "Youth  has  passed; 

Master  of  magic  falls  and  swells. 
Bearing  away  the  cunning  cast 

Into  the  molding  of  the  bells." 


PAVING  THE  LAST 

MILE  FOR  THE 

ITINERANT 

THE  REV.  FREDERICK  T.  KEENEY,  D.D. 

President  Permanent  Fund  Commission 
Central  New  York  Conference 


God  has  a  care  for  preachers.  He  has  a  special  care,  I 
think,  for  all  whom  He  calls  to  special  tasks  of  holy  service. 
It  began  long  ago,  as  is  shown  by  the  provision  which  He 
made  for  the  Levites.  They  had  no  land,  as  had  the  others; 
but  they  had  what  was  better  than  land,  a  place  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people.  God  cared  so  much  for  them  that  He  counted 
the  neglect  of  the  Levite  as  one  of  the  chief  sins  of  Israel. 
When  the  Israelite  withheld  his  support,  God  withheld  His 
crops,  but  when  he  cared  for  the  Levite,  God  filled  his 
granaries.  The  provision  for  the  Levite's  need  was  by  divine 
appointment;  and  to  it  was  ever  linked  a  promise.  The 
statute  ran :  "The  Levite  and  the  stranger,  and  the  fatherless, 
and  the  widow,  which  are  within  thy  gates,  shall  come,  and 
shall  eat  and  be  satisfied;  that  the  Lord  thy  God  may  bless 
thee  in  all  the  work  of  thine  hand  which  thou  doest." 

If  you  would  know  God's  richest  blessing,  give  heart-room 
to  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  the  widow,  the  Levite  and  the 
prophet.  Until  the  Most  High  revokes  His  promise,  no  man 
is  poorer  for  sharing  the  best  he  has  with  those  who  are  the 
subjects  of  God's  special  care ;  to  this  the  Shunnamite  woman 
and  the  widow  of  Zarephath  bear  testimony. 

The  same  truth  is  emphasized  in  the  New  Testament. 
Christ,  the  Good  Shepherd,  had  special  promises  and  tender 
messages  for  those  whom  He  called  to  represent  Him  as 
under-shepherds  of  the  flock.  They  came  closer  to  His  heart 
than  did  any  others,  and  were  more  often  in  His  prayers. 
They,  too,  had  neither  lands  nor  houses.  They  were  to  go 
forth  without  scrip  or  purse.  There  was  need  of  neither,  for 
Christ  had  provided  for  them  a  richer  legacy — the  hearts  of 
those  to  whom  they  ministered.  You  might  have  thought 
them  poor,  but  they  were  not.   It  might  have  seemed  that  they 

19 


20  THE  RETIEED  MIXISTER 

were  having  a  hard  time;  but  it  was  a  triumphant  journey 
all  the  way.  True,  there  was  many  a  paradox.  Tliey,  like 
Paul,  were  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing ;  poor,  yet  making 
many  rich;  having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all  things; 
unknown,  and  yet  well  known;  dying,  yet  very  much  alive; 
chastened,  but  not  killed. 

God's  ministers  in  every  centur}^  have  been  in  this  ^^apos- 
tolic succession."  Xo  life  has  more  of  paradoxes  than  that 
of  the  Methodist  itinerant.  There  are  the  hard  places,  and 
there  are  the  Mountains  of  Transfiguration;  there  are 
days  of  humiliation  and  defeat,  and  days  of  victory;  there 
are  days  when  one  might  wish  to  die,  and  there  are  days  when 
one  might  wish  to  live  a  thousand  years.  There  are  joy-days 
enough,  so  that  I  ask  no  one  to  shed  tears  or  to  give  a  feather's 
weight  of  sympathy  to  the  Methodist  itinerant  until  he  comes 
to  the  last  mile.  Then,  if  you  can  lighten  the  load  a  bit  or 
help  pave  the  way,  you  are  doing  .a  service  so  Christlike  that 
angels  well  might  covet  the  task.  I  speak  of  the  last  mile 
out  of  the  fulness  of  an  overflowing  heart.  I  entered  the 
Methodist  itinerancy  when  I  was  two  months  and  thirteen 
days  old.  I  have  lived  under  a  parsonage  roof  through  all 
the  intervening  years.  Sometimes  the  roof  has  leaked,  but 
more  often  not.  Sometimes  it  was  so  low  that  there  was 
not  much  room  between  one's  head  and  the  rafters;  but 
usually  it  was  high  enough.  Sometimes  father's  purse  was  so 
thin  that  one  did  not  need  an  X-ray  to  see  through  it;  but 
usually  there  was  a  ham  or  a  spare  rib  hanging  in  the  wood- 
house.  Sometimes  the  boys  used  to  plague  me  because  the 
knees  of  my  trousers  were  patched;  and  said  that  the  reason 
lay  in  the  fact  that  my  father  made  me  pray  so  much  that 
I  wore  them  through  prematurely;  but  I  was  always  sure  of 
at  least  one  pair  of  pants,  so  long  as  father  had  some  old 
trousers  which  could  be  made  over,  and  mother  did  not  lose 
her  skill  with  the  needle. 

Father  and  I  began  preaching  in  1863,  when  the  price  of 
everything  was  high,  except  the  price  of  preaching.  That 
was  kept  down  to  a  strictly  gold  standard  throughout  the 
Civil  War.  During  the  first  year  of  father's  ministry  he  was 
the  junior  preacher  on  a  large  circuit.  The  Conference 
Minutes  for  that  year  report  the  salary  received  by  both  min- 
isters as  $200,  with  a  donation  of  $260;  but  the  Minutes 


PAVING  THE  LAST  MILE  21 

do  not  tell  how  this  sum  was  divided.  Inasmuch,  however, 
as  the  senior  minister  had  five  children,  and  years  of  experi- 
ence, while  my  father  had  only  a  pair  of  twin  baby  boys,  it 
is  fair  to  assume  that  the  junior  preacher  had  the  smaller 
share.  In  those  days  farmers  were  coining  gold  from  the  war 
prices,  while  from  his  meager  income  father  was  paying 
twenty  dollars  a  ton  for  hay  to  feed  his  horse ;  for  the  itiner- 
ant who  did  not  have  a  good  horse  was  always  sul)jeet  to 
censure.  The  following  year  the  Minutes  are  more  definite, 
and  disclose  the  fact  that  father  received  $1G3  salary  and 
a  donation  of  $214:.  But  he  preached  five  years  before  his 
salary  and  donation  combined  reached  $500;  as  did  many 
another  itinerant  who  is  now,  staff  in  hand,  wearily  marching 
the  last  mile. 

Father  was  a  revival  preacher  and  pastor  of  the  old  type 
who  took  God  at  His  word,  and  who  never  knew  that  the 
fight  was  either  long  or  hard  until  after  the  victory  was  won. 
Like  many  another,  he  could  preach,  exhort  and  pray  until 
the  morning,  without  weariness,  if  there  was  a  seeking  soul 
at  the  altar  to  be  "prayed  through."  During  the  first  winter 
of  his  ministry  he  held  revival  services  continuously  for 
five  months  at  the  various  appointments  on  the  circuit,  and 
preached  every  night,  without  once  undressing  for  a  night's 
rest.  For  mother  was  not  strong.  My  twin  brother  and  I, 
less  than  a  year  of  age,  were  companions  in  sorroAV  as  in  joy. 
If  one  cried,  the  other  invariably  joined  him  in  vocal  sym- 
pathy. During  the  day  mother  would  care  for  us  and  look 
after  the  house,  while  father  prepared  for  the  evening  service 
and  made  necessary  calls.  After  his  return  from  the  evening 
service  late  at  night,  mother,  worn  with  the  day's  work,  re- 
tired; and  father  secured  such  rest  as  he  might  while  lying 
upon  the  couch,  ready  to  put  wood  on  the  fire  frequently,  to 
keep  the  old  parsonage  warm  for  the  babies,  and  to  care  for 
them  as  occasion  might  require.  When  we  slept  well,  he  slept 
also ;  but  if  either  of  us  awoke  there  was  sure  to  be  a  wakeful 
company  of  three.  I  once  asked  him:  "Father,  would  you 
enlist  in  the  itinerancy  over  again,  if  the  years  were  rolled 
back  and  you  had  the  chance  to  begin  again?  Would  you 
leave  the  old  homestead,  where  four  generations  of  our  kin- 
dred have  been  born,  and  become  a  Methodist  minister, 
moving  here  and  there  at  the  will  of  the  Bishop  and  the  peo- 


22  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

pie,  and  be  glad  to  go,  in  the  consciousness  that  God  had 
called  you  to  the  ministry?"  Then  my  father,  four-score 
years  old  and  helpless  with  paralysis,  from  the  wheeled  chair 
where  he  had  been  enthroned  for  five  years  made  answer: 
"Fred,  I  would  not  wait  a  second  to  decide.  I  would  rather 
spend  my  life  as  a  Methodist  minister  than  be  a  king."  That 
day  I  realized,  as  I  had  never  done  before,  that  I  had  royal 
blood  coursing  through  my  veins. 

I  grant  that  it  is  not  easy  for  a  man  with  a  heart  to 
be  moved  every  year  or  two  or  three,  as  these  Veterans  had  to 
be  under  the  time  limit;  or  as  pastors  even  now  have  to  do 
all  too  frequently.  It  isn't  easy  to  pull  the  heart  up  by  the 
roots  and  transplant  it  to  new  soil,  to  say  good-by  to  tried  old 
friends,  and  look  strangers  in  the  face  on  the  first  Sunday 
after  Conference  knowing  that  if  you  learn  to  love  them, 
some  day  you  must  say  good-by  to  them  also  and  move  on. 
This  is  not  a  pleasant  experience  for  a  man  with  a  heart; 
and  the  minister  who  has  not  a  heart  had  better  dig  ditches 
than  attempt  to  preach.  But,  nevertheless,  there  are  so 
many  compensations;  so  many  good  people  whom  the  itiner- 
ant comes  to  know,  so  many  hearts  and  homes  open  to  take 
him  in,  so  many  precious  promises,  tested  under  a  great 
variety  of  circumstances,  that  I  ask  no  sympathy  for  the 
Methodist  itinerant  until  he  comes  to  the  last  mile.  It  is 
then  that  he  needs  heartening,  and  in  most  cases  his  purse 
needs  to  feel  the  touch  of  silver. 

If  one  could  always  remain  the  pastor  of  one  congregation 
he  would  have  both  love  and  coin  sufficient  to  pave  the  last 
mile  of  the  journey.  He  and  the  people  would  grow  old 
together,  and  his  gray  hairs  and  advancing  years  would  come 
on  so  silently  as  scarcely  to  be  noticeable.  Those  whom  he 
had  led  to  Christ  would  not  forget  him;  those  whom  he  had 
joined  in  matrimony  would  remember  him;  and  the  children 
whom  he  had  baptized  would  grow  up  ready  to  share  with 
him,  as  long  as  they  had  aught  to  share  with  any  one.  But 
most  men  in  the  Methodist  ranks  come  to  retirement  as  the 
pastor  of  some  little  church  where  they  have  been  known  but 
a  brief  time.  In  their  prime  they  may  have  served  strong 
Churches.  But  the  fever  of  haste  is  upon  us,  and  the  activi- 
ties of  Church  life  are  so  many,  that  the  old  man  finds  it 
difficult  to  keep  the  pace,  and  he  has  to  ask  for  lighter  work. 


PAVING  THE  LAST  MILE  23 

Often  on  the  smaller  charge,  where  the  later  years  find  him, 
he  is  not  welcome.  The  church  had  asked  the  Bishop  for  a 
young  man;  and  when  a  preacher  nearing  retirement  was 
sent,  though  rich  in  both  experience  and  years,  it  was  but  a 
scanty  welcome  that  awaited  him.  In  a  year  or  two  the 
people  decide  that  they  must  have  a  change ;  and  the  Bishop 
is  compelled  to  tell  him  that  no  charge  wants  him,  and 
that  nothing  remains  for  him  but  retirement.  It  is  then 
that  I  have  seen  the  Veterans  hurry  out  of  the  Conference 
room  to  hide  their  tears;  and  when  their  eyes  were  dry,  I 
have  known  that  their  hearts  were  weeping.  It  is  then  that 
I  pray  God  and  the  Church,  in  their  pity  for  the  preacher, 
to  lighten  the  load  and  help  pave  the  last  mile  of  the  way. 

Did  you  ever  hear  an  old  preacher  say  that  he  wanted  to 
"die  in  the  harness"  ?  I  have  heard  it  from  the  lips  of  scores. 
Do  you  know  what  he  means?  He  means  that  some  day  he 
would  like  to  bring  a  gosj^el  message  to  some  waiting  congre- 
gation, look  once  more  into  their  faces  and  feel  the  thrill  of 
rapture  coming  back  from  their  countenances,  quickening 
his  heart  beat;  at  the  close  of  the  service  pray  with  some 
seeker  at  the  altar,  and  then  lie  down  to  sleep  and  wake  up  in 
glory.  If  ministers  had  their  way  there  would  never  be  a 
Retired  Preacher.  But  God  knows  that  we  younger  men  need 
these  old  heroes  to  cheer  us  on  and  pray  us  through  and  hold 
u])  our  hands,  and  knowing  this.  He  sometimes  delays  their 
coronation. 

Did  you  read  that  poem,  inspired  by  the  life  of  Amzi 
Smith,  a  Newark  Conference  pastor,  who  went  home  to  glory 
after  forty-three  years'  service  on  little  country  charges  in 
Northern  New  Jersey?  The  son  of  another  preacher  paid 
tribute  to  his  memory  in  words  that  might  be  written  of  many 
a  hero  in  any  Conference : 

"Six  hundred  dollars  was  the  most  he  earned 
In  any  year,  so  far  as  I'm  aware; 
For  two  and  forty  years  he  lived  on  that, 
Or  less.     Riches  unsearchable  he  preached. 
And  drew  this  pittance  for  his  household's  needs. 
And  yet  he  seemed  to  think  it  was  enough. 
I  do  not  know  that  ever  he  complained. 
Perhaps  it  was  enough,  for  he  was  fed 
And  clothed.     His  wife,  the  boys  and  girls,  the  horse, 
All  had  enough.    He  had  his  work  to  do, 
And  did  it  faithfully,  as  unto  God. 


24  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

And  where  he  labored  hungry  hearts  were  blest, 

Sinners  became  good  men.     The  village  smiled 

Where  Amzi  Smith  abode. 

As  God  blessed  Obed-Edom  and  his  house 

The  while  the  ark  was  there,  so  did  He  bless 

The  towns  and  fields  and  hamlets  where  this  man 

Dwelt,  with  God's  glory  in  his  humble  soul. 

O  God,  let  not  that  race  of  giants  die; 
Give  us  more  men  like  them,  old-fashioned,  brave, 
True  to  the  truth;  men  that  have  made  the  Church 
Mighty,  and  glad,  and  songful  in  the  past." 

"When  these  noble  spirits  come  to  the  last  mile,  we  are  less 
ihan  men,  less  than  Christians,  less  than  followers  of  John 
Wesley,  if  we  do  not  pave  it  with  our  prayers,  and  with  onr 
love  and  gifts.  When  God  calls  men,  and  sets  them  apart  as 
watchmen  upon  the  walls  of  Zion,  His  call  is  for  life.  He 
wants  no  divided  life  nor  service;  and  the  Church  wants  no 
pastor  whose  one  business  is  not  to  preach  the  gospel.  If 
the  minister  gives  himself  wholly  to  the  Church  for  his  whole 
life,  the  Church  is  in  honor  bound  to  provide  for  him;  not 
only  during  the  years  of  his  active  service,  but  also  when  he 
is  too  old  and  feeble  to  work.  Suj)port  for  the  last  mile  is  as 
imperative  as  for  the  first.  God  might  never  have  laid  this 
honor  and  responsibility  on  the  Church.  He  might  have  sent 
ravens  to  provide  for  His  ministry  as  He  did  for  Elijah.  Ho 
might  have  sent  angels  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Jesus  Christ.    But  He  knew  that  men  were  better. 

I  do  not  plead  at  this  time  for  larger  salaries,  although  in 
many  cases  they  are  pitifully  small.  Most  churches  mean  to 
be  generous,  and  to  pay  their  pastor  according  to  their  ability 
and  the  light  they  have.  But  in  some  places  the  light  is  ex- 
ceedingly dim.  In  too  many  cases  the  support  promised  is 
not  paid.  Throughout  the  entire  denomination  the  defi- 
ciencies during  the  last  fifty  years  total  $5,000,000,  and  they 
have  fallen  upon  the  men  who  could  least  afford  to  bear  them. 

With  a  given  salary,  a  minister  cannot  save  as  much  as 
other  men  on  the  same  income.  No  matter  how  small  his 
salary  may  be,  he  must  dress  neatly  and  well,  for  no  church 
wishes  a  "seedy"  looking  pastor.  He  must  have  a  larger 
library  than  most  men  in  his  congregation ;  he  must  take  more 
periodicals;  he  must  travel  more  extensively;  he  must  attend 


PAVING  THE  LAST  MILE  25 

more  conventions ;  he  must  be  interested  in  every  organization 
in  his  church,  and  be  a  contributor  to  each  one.  Sometimes 
by  his  own  generosity  he  must  shame  wealthy  and  stingy  lay- 
men into  giving.  When  Syracuse  University  was  founded 
pastors  who  were  receiving  only  $500  subscribed  $500;  and 
others  on  a  salary  of  $1,000  subscribed  $1,000 ;  and  they  paid 
seven  per  cent  interest  until  they  could  pay  the  principal. 

Often  the  little  that  the  minister  has  saved  disappears 
through  poor  investments  before  he  reaches  the  last  mile ;  this 
is  not  strange.  He  does  not  have  enough  to  invest  to  really 
learn  how  to  invest,  and  often  he  secures  his  experience  at  the 
cost  of  his  savings.  He  is  honest  himself  and  thinks  that  other 
people  are,  until  he  learns  that  much  advice  concerning  in- 
vestments is  not  devoid  of  self-interest.  The  nightmare  of 
a  preacher's  dreams,  whether  waking  or  sleeping,  is  to  provide 
for  his  loved  ones  and  himself  for  the  last  mile. 

The  Church  has  been  slow  to  recognize  the  fact  that  when 
the  preacher  comes  to  the  last  mile  she  should  not  treat  him 
as  a  pauper  but  as  a  pensioner.  She  should  not  wound  his 
spirit  and  break  his  heart  by  a  dole  of  charity;  but  should 
count  it  a  high  honor  and  a  joyous  privilege  to  help  make 
his  last  mile  the  brightest  and  the  best.  I  am  glad  that  we 
live  at  a  time  of  enlarging  vision,  when  the  last  mile  of 
the  itinerant's  journey  is  appealing  strongly  to  the  Church; 
and  when  the  men  whose  prayers  and  faith  made  possible 
the  prosperity  of  the  present,  shall  not  only  know  that  God 
has  not  forgotten  them,  but  that  the  Church  does  not  forget. 
The  dawning  of  this  new  day  for  the  Conference  Claimant 
has  been  long  delayed,  but  the  sun  is  now  up  and  is  hastening 
toward  the  meridian.  In  the  Central  New  York  Conference 
it  required  twenty-four  years  to  add  $1,300  to  the  Permanent 
Fund  for  Conference  Claimants.  But  during  the  last 
decade  the  funds  have  leaped  from  $17,000  to  $200,000;  and 
the  slogan  now  is,  "Three  hundred  thousand  dollars  by  Octo- 
ber 1,  1915."  A  mighty  impulse  was  given  to  the  movement 
four  years  ago  when  the  son  of  one  of  our  retired  ministers 
presented  the  Conference  with  $50,000  in  honor  of  his  father 
and  mother,  who  had  spent  their  lives  serving  the  smaller 
churches  of  the  Conference.  Had  the  father  preached  one 
hundred  years  the  total  salary  received  by  him  would  not 
have  exceeded  the  amount  which  his  generous  son  gave  in  a 


26  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

single  year.  And,  thank  God,  Methodism  has  many  sons  who 
are  rich  not  only  in  gold  but  richer  still  in  love  for  the 
Church,  who  wilf  help  pave  with  their  gold  the  highway  on 
which  the  itinerant  travels  his  last  mile. 

Methodism  is  rich  to-day,  not  alone  in  gold,  bnt  also  in 
the  lives  of  those  whom  God  has  called  into  her  ministry, 
and  in  the  memories  that  linger,  like  a  golden  halo,  about 
the  lives  of  those  whom  He  has  promoted  to  the  Church 
Triumphant.  No  Annual  Conference  is  without  its  heroic 
Veterans,  who  opened  the  way  for  us  younger  men  to  come 
into  the  Conference  and  share  their  honors;  men  who  built 
the  churches  where  we  preach  and  the  parsonages  where  we 
live ;  who  led  our  fathers  and  mothers  to  Christ,  and  taught 
them  the  alphabet  of  prayer.  We  will  not  forget.  The 
Church  will  not  forget.  God  helping  us,  we  will  free  the 
itinerant's  last  mile  from  anxious  care,  and  so  pave  it  with 
love  as  to  make  it  the  best  mile  of  the  entire  journey,  as  he 
mounts  up  the  steeps  toward  the  city  with  sure  foundations. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.  Frederick  T.  Keeney. 

OLD  AGE 
Henry  Wausworth  Longfellow 
It  is  too  late!     Oh!  nothing  is  too  late. 
Till  the  tired  heart  shall  cease  to  palpitate, 
Cato  learned  Greek  at  eighty;   Sophocles 
Wrote  his  grand  "(Edipus,"  and  Simonides 
Bore  off  the  prize  of  verse  from  his  compeers, 
When  each  had  numbered  four  score  years; 
And  Theophrastus  at  four  score  years  and  ten 
Had  but  begun  his  "Characters  of  Men." 
Chaucer  at  Woodstock,  with  the  nightingales, 
At  sixty  wrote  "The  Canterbury  Tales." 
Goethe,  at  Thelmar,  toiling  to  the  last 
Completed  "Faust"  when  eighty  years  were  past. 

What  then!     Shall  we  sit  idly  down  and  say, 
The  night  has  come;  it  is  no  longer  day? 
The  night  has  not  yet  come;  we  are  not  quite 
Cut  off  from  labor  by  the  failing  light; 
Something  remains  for  us  to  do,  or  dare 
Even  the  oldest  trees  some  fruit  may  bear; 
For  age  is  opportunity  no  less 
Than  youth  itself,  though  in  another  dress; 
The  sk^  is  filled  with  stars  invisible  by  day. 
Fast  as  the  evening  twilight  fades  away. 


THE  ROAD  OF  THE  LOVING 
HEART 


MILDRED  WELCH 


That  it  was  they  called  it,  the  simple,  Samoaii  Islanders, 
who  built  the  road  for  their  friend,  Kobert  Louis  Stevenson, 
"a  name  that  brings  us,  as  it  were,  a  breeze  blowing  ot!  the 
shores  of  youth/' 

The  road  was  cut  through  the  brush  with  much  labor  and 
toil,  that,  unhindered,  the  beloved  story-teller  might  come  and 
go  between  his  house  in  the  woods  and  the  beach. 

Along  that  road  there  came  at  sunset  all  his  '^friendly 
helpers  in  a  foreign  isle,''  to  join  with  him  and  his  family  in 
the  simj^le  evening  worship  that  bound  all  hearts  together 
beneath  the  peace  of  his  roof. 

Fame,  honor,  wealth,  and  the  love  of  unnumbered  hearts, 
followed  him.  He,  at  least,  could  say  that  life  had  given  him 
what  he  asked :  ^'That  he  might  awake  each  day  with  morn- 
ing face  and  morning  heart,  eager  to  labor,  eager  to  be  happy 
if  happiness  should  be  his  portion;  and  if  the  day  were 
marked  for  sorrow,  strong  to  endure  it." 

The  day  came  at  last  when  the  Samoan  chiefs  carried  him 
out  by  the  Eoad  of  the  Loving  Heart  to  the  crest  of  the  hill 
that  looks  ever  to  the  restless  sea,  and  the  storm-swept  reefs, 
and  there  they  laid  him  to  rest,  and  on  the  stone  they  graved 
his  own  sunny-hearted  words: 

"Glad  did  I  live  and  gladly  die 
And  I  laid  me  down  with  a  will. 
Home  is  the  sailor,  home  from  sea, 
And  the  hunter,  home  from  the  hill." 

The  Road  of  the  Loving  Heart — how  good  it  is  that  it 
was  granted  to  one  man,  at  least,  to  go  home  that  way. 

Do  we  ever  think  of  a  (dass  of  men,  whom  we  send  to  their 
Father's  House  by  the  Eoad  of  the  Sorrowful  Way? 

Men  who,  though  lacking  the  special  genius  of  Robert  Louis 

27 


28  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

Stevenson,  lack  nothing  of  his  courage,  his  patience,  his 
sunny-hearted  sacrifices. 

Instead  of  fame,  wealth,  honor,  they  have  long  years  in 
destitute  home  mission  fields,  long  watches  by  the  bed  of  the 
sick  and  the  side  of  the  dying,  long  rides  in  heat  of  summer 
and  storm  of  winter.  Have  you  ever  seen  them — that  thin- 
ning line  of  old  ministers,  their  shoulders  stooped,  their  hair 
white,  their  eyes  dimmed,  their  faces  marred  with  others'  sor- 
rows ? 

One  of  them  went  home  not  long  ago  by  the  Road  of  the 
Sorrowful  Way.  When  he  died,  many  articles  were  written 
about  him  and  his  praises  were  sounded  far  and  wide,  but 
while  he  lived,  he  was  in  abject  poverty  and  sometimes  in 
humiliating  need. 

"I  am  sorry,"  he  wrote,  when  he  acknowledged  the  receipt 
of  a  pittance  from  the  Relief  Fund,  "to  have  caused  so  much 
trouble,  and  ere  another  collection  comes  around  I  will  be 
where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  are  at 
rest." 

Soon  after  the  old  Minister  entered  in  "where  beyond  the 
voices  there  is  peace." 

The  days  slip  by  and  our  old  ministers  are  going  home. 
We  choose  the  path  they  tread.  Shall  it  be  the  Road  of  the 
Sorrowful  Way,  or  do  they  enter  that  land  where  none  shall 
say:  "I  am  old,"  by  the  Road  of  the  Loving  Heart? 


AN  OLD  MINISTER 
Samuel  McCoy 

In  hours  when  I  review  that  one  dear  life — 

The  life  of  that  one  Man  whom  most  I  owe — 
And  ponder  whether  rich  or  vain  his  strife, 

His  toil  repaid  with  bitter  wage  or  no, 
Day  hardly  softened,  though  it  be  near  done, 
I  cry  in  pity.    Yet  the  westering  sun, 

With  glory  not  of  earth,  lights  up  his  face, 
And  heaven  hallows  him  as  who  has  won 

His  earthly  fight,  far  beyond  power  to  trace 
My  helpless  love;  and  peace  rests  in  his  eyes, 

And  God's  high  calling  is  his  matchless  prize. 


FANNY  CROSBY'S 
OFFERING 

FANNY  CROSBY 

94  Years  Young 


LOVE'S  EECOMPENSE 

AN    APPEAL   IN    BEHALF    OF    RETIRED    MINISTERS 

There  is  a  work  of  love  and  duty 

That  devolves  upon  us  all. 
There  is  a  tender,  pleading  message. 

And  its  tones  like  music  fall: 
Help  our  weary  Veteran  Preachers, 

Scatter  roses  o'er  their  way: 
Rally  round  them,  hasten  quickly^ 

Not  to-morrow,  but  to-day. 

From  the  well  of  deep  affection 

Jslow  their  hearts  with  gladness  fill. 
Do  not  wait  their  names  to  honor, 

Till  the  pulse  of  life  is  still. 
Break  the  box  of  alabaster. 

Pour  its  oil  upon  them  now. 
Make  their  dwelling  bright  and  happy, 

Wreathe  in  smiles  each  furrowed  brow. 

They  have  borne  the  royal  standard 

Of  our  Master  and  our  Lord. 
From  the  time  of  early  manhood 

They  have  preached  His  Holy  Word. 
But  their  strength  has  lost  its  vigor. 

And  their  cheek  its  youthful  glow; 
For  the  frost  of  age  has  touched  them 

And  their  locks  are  white  as  snow. 

Watchman  on  the  walls  of  Zion 

Though  their  feet  no  more  will  stand, 
From  the  top  of  Pisgah's  mountain 

Faith  beholds  the  promised  land. 
Soon  triumphant  like  an  army 

Marching  through  the  realms  above. 
They  will  shout  the  grand  old  story, 

Robed  in  white  and  crowned  with  love. 


(Copyright  1909,  by  Biglow  &  Main.) 

29 


30  THE  RETIRED  MIN^ISTER 

Fanny  J.  Crosby — blind,  bowed  with  age,  but  yet  clear  of 
mind — gave  expression  to  the  following  rich  sentiment  at  her 
home  in  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  on  her  ninety-fourth  birthday: 

"As  for  my  age,  it  doesn't  seem  to  me  that  I  am  in  the  nineties, 
and  I  attribute  my  good  health  and  long  life  to  the  fact  that  I 
never  let  anything  trouble  me,  and  to  my  implicit  faith,  my  im- 
plicit trust  in  my  heavenly  Father's  goodness.  If  I  didn't  get 
the  thing  I  wanted  to-day,  well,  I'd  get  it  to-morrow;  if  not  then, 
I  realized  that  it  wasn't  good  for  me  to  have  it.  Everybody  is 
born  for  something,  has  a  talent  for  something,  and  with  a  little 
patience  will  find  his  or  her  place  in  the  world.  You  will  conquer 
only  by  love.  Love  is  the  great  engine  which  is  going  to  reform 
the  world." 

Blind,  we  call  her?  She  reverses  the  declaration  of  the 
Lord  addressed  to  the  Pharisees — she  not  having  eyes,  seeth. 

What  a  remarkable  life  she  has  lived !  We  cannot  hope 
to  have  her  with  us  long;  but  her  philosophy  of  sunshine,  of 
trust,  of  love,  will  abide  as  long  as  hearts  are  hungry  and 
men  seek  the  truth. 

Frances  Ridley  Havergal's  question  and  answer  give  the 
larger  meaning  of  the  life  of  our  Sweet  Singer : 

"How  can  she  sing  in  the  dark  like  this? 
What  is  her  fountain  of  light  and  bliss? 
O,  her  heart  can  see,  her  heart  can  see! 
And  its  sight  is  strong  and  swift  and  free!" 

When  we  planned  our  program  in  behalf  of  the  old  preach- 
ers we  wrote  to  her,  asking  for  a  song,  and  were  told  "that  she 
would  be  pleased  to  write  a  hymn  for  so  worthy  a  cause."  We 
assured  her  that  such  a  service  would  be  greatly  appreciated, 
especially  by  the  Retired  Ministers,  the  widows  and  orphans, 
and  in  due  time  received  the  following  letter: 

Bridgeport,  Conn.,  August  24,  1909. 
Dear  Dr.  Hingeley: 

I  trust  you  will  allow  me  to  substitute  a  poem  for  the  song 
I  promised  you.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  better  present  a 
plea  in  a  poem  to  be  read  than  in  a  song.  I  have  written  the 
same  and  enclose  it  herewith. 

Could  I  voice  my  inmost  thoughts  in  words  I  am  sure  the 
appeal  would  touch  every  member  of  the  Church.  I  pray  that 
what  I  have  written  will  touch  many. 

Sincerely,  Fanny  J.  Crosby. 


A  RETIRING 
COMPETENCY 

AND 

THE  CALL  TO  PREACH 

THE  REV.  L.  J.  BIRNEY,  D.D. 

Dean  Boston  University  School  of  Theology 


The  strongest  appeal  made  to  strong  men  is  not  that  of 
the  sovereignty  of  God,  but  of  the  dependence  of  God.  The 
amazing  extent  to  which  God  has  made  Himself  dependent 
upon  men  for  the  consummation  of  His  plans  captures  the 
loyalty  of  great  souls.  The  revelation  of  divine  dependence 
grows  with  every  new  discernment  of  the  laws  that  control 
the  moral  elevation  of  life.  Every  point  of  contact  between 
divine  and  human  life  reveals  it.  We  desire  to  speak  of  one 
of  the  most  significant  of  these;  the  point  at  which  God 
endeavors  to  lift  a  life  into  the  prophetic  character  and  func- 
tion. 

The  Call 

The  very  existence  of  the  apostolic  order,  as  inseparable 
from  the  whole  plan  of  redemption,  vividly  reveals  how  God 
must  wait  upon  the  aid  of  man  in  seeking  highest  ends.  He 
can  make  mountains  and  moons  without  him,  but  without  him 
He  cannot  morally  change  the  humblest  countryside.  The  call- 
ing of  the  twelve  is  the  symbol  of  a  perpetual  process. 

But  the  divine  dependence  is  not  seen  best  in  the  fact  that 
He  must  call  prophets,  but  rather  in  the  countless  human 
elements  and  influences  upon  which  the  effectiveness  of  that 
call  depends.  A  recent  writer  on  the  call  to  preach  says  that 
one  characteristic  of  the  call  to  the  ministry  is  that  it  is  always 
effective,  that  everyone  whom  God  would  call  to  preach  will 
eventually  preach.  That  is  not  true.  One  wonders  if  the 
writer  ever  mingled  closely  with  men. 

It  would  be  as  reasonable  to  say  that  no  one  ever  enters 
the  ministry  except  those  really  chosen  of  God ;  a  claim  whicli 
with  difficulty  would  win  the  assent  of  the  Pew.  This  very 
hour  there  are  hundreds  of  men,  busy  in  trade  and  profession, 
whom  God  intended  for  the  ministry  and  wlio  would  have 

31 


33  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

wrought  mightily  as  prophets  of  the  Most  High.  That  this 
is  true  is  witnessed  by  the  repentant  confession  of  many; 
though  not  less  sad  is  the  fact  that  others  will  be  unconscious 
of  it  to  the  end  of  the  day.  For  God's  call  to  the  ministry 
comes  more  often  in  the  still  small  voice,  which  may  be  lost 
in  the  din  of  world  voices,  than  in  earthquake  or  fire ;  and,  as 
the  Christian  ideal  becomes  more  dominant  and  universal,  the 
still  voice  becomes  more  and  more,  and  the  earthquake  less 
and  less,  the  means  divinely  used.  A  very  large  percentage 
of  the  most  effective  prophets  of  our  time  received  no  irre- 
sistible call,  but  a  quiet  conviction  in  an  open  mind  that  life 
would  mean  most  for  God  and  humanity  if  spent  in  the  min- 
istry. 

The  Call  Obscured 

Among  the  influences  which  tend  to  obscure  the  call,  what 
of  the  meager  and  pitiful  provision  for  the  closing  years? 
And  at  once  we  say,  and  with  emphasis,  that  the  young  man 
to  whom  the  call  comes  with  clear  and  unmistakable  convic- 
tion, who  seeing  the  meager  income  that  makes  saving  almost 
impossible,  and  years  of  probable  penury  at  the  close,  and  be- 
cause of  that  alone  turns  back  to  this  present  world  as  Demas 
did,  is  no  better  than  Demas  was.  In  him  is  no  stuff  of 
which  heroes  are  made,  and  the  loss  is  not  great.  We  doubt 
indeed  if  there  are  many  whom  God  has  called  and  chosen,  and 
in  whose  souls  that  call  rings  clear,  who  are  turned  back  by 
the  threatening  lion  of  want.  But  whenever  that  does  occur, 
the  Church  will  share  the  guilt.  For  a  great  Church  like  ours 
has  no  moral  right  thus  to  create  a  purely  artificial  and  wholly 
unnecessary  hardship.  It  is  vastly  different  from  the  hard- 
ships and  the  perils  that  face  the  pioneer,  or  the  missionary  to 
a  savage  people  who  are  ruled  by  savage  ideals.  That  kind  of 
hardship  is  as  inseparable  from  the  process  of  human  redemp- 
tion as  was  the  cross.  But  the  suffering  of  which  we  speak 
comes  from  those  who  have  accepted  all  the  vast  benefits  of 
the  gospel  truth,  who  do  understand  its  message  of  love.  It 
originates  in  the  ingratitude  and  selfishness  of  those  who  have 
received  that  message;  and  it  falls  heavily  upon  the  life  of 
those  whose  feet,  now  weary,  were  once  beautiful  upon  the 
mountains,  as  they  brought  the  glad  tidings  of  peace.  The 
burden  falls  upon  them  on  account  of  the  neglect  of  a  great 


THE  CALL  TO  PREACH  33 

Church,  which  has  power  with  ease  to  lift  the  last  burden  from 
the  last  years  of  the  last  man  who  has  labored  long  and  well 
in  the  great  world  task.  The  Church  must  share  the  guilt  of 
the  man  whose  unwillingness  to  bear  the  fruits  of  her  negli- 
gence closes  his  eyes  in  disobedience  to  the  heavenly  vision. 
But  the  greatest  loss  is  not  among  those  in  whom  the  call 
has  matured  to  unmistakable  conviction.  The  real  mischief  is 
done  long  before  the  call  is  realized,  and  in  a  far  more  insinu- 
ating, subtle  and  effective  way.  It  is  done  by  seriously 
prejudicing  the  mind  of  the  youth  of  the  Church  against  a 
calling  which  the  Church  permits  to  be  surrounded  too  often 
l)y  an  air  of  pauperism  and  want.  Every  call  to  preach  has  a 
psychological  background,  upon  which  the  call  is  dependent 
to  an  undreamed-of  extent.  Ninety-five  per  cent  of  those  who 
have  heard  and  heeded  the  call  to  preach  spent  their  child- 
hood and  youth  in  an  atmosphere  where  the  ministry  was 
honored  and  that  call  not  opposed.  Upon  that  background 
God  is  largely  dependent  for  His  ministry.  That  law  works 
as  readily  in  the  opposite  direction.  The  influences  that  tend 
to  make  the  ministry  unattractive  to  youth,  lowering  its 
dignity  and  strength,  tend  to  make  a  mental  background 
against  which  it  is  exceeding  difficult  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
place  His  call  with  power;  just  as  the  attitude  of  a  home  in 
opposition  to  the  Church  or  to  the  Christian  life  creates  in 
the  cliild  of  the  home  a  mental  attitude  through  which  it  is 
vastly  more  difficult  for  the  Spirit  to  bring  conviction. 

Prejudicing  Youth 

Among  the  influences  that  create  early  j)rejudice  against  the 
highest  of  all  callings,  the  failure  of  the  Church  to  give  that 
calling  a  self-respecting  freedom  from  the  fear  of  want  is  by 
no  means  the  least.  I  will  never  be  able  to  eradicate  the  im- 
pression made  upon  my  mind  by  the  annual  presentation  of  the 
"worn-out  preachers^  cause,"  as  it  was  then  called,  and  by  two 
or  three  examples  of  aged  need  and  dependence,  creating  as 
they  did  not  only  a  sense  of  pity,  but  as  in  every  healthy  lad,  a 
sense  of  injustice  and  revolt.  The  heroism  and  sacrifice  called 
for  in  the  life  and  work  of  a  minister  appeal  to  the  soul  of 
the  normal  lad.  These  need  never  be  minimized.  But  to  place 
tlie  minister  in  the  position  of  a  suppliant,  a  beggar,  and  a 
dependent  disgusts  the  normal  youth,  and  all  unconsciously 


34  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

lays  a  foundation  of  opposition  to  influences  human  and  divine 
that  would  lead  him  to  choose  tliat  work. 

The  Churrli  of  Christ  has  no  moral  ri<;lit  to  allow  the 
greatest  calliii.i;-  (iod  ever  permits  meji  to  enter,  to  he  com- 
promised in  tlie  minds  ajul  liearts  of  the  youth  of  the  Cliurch 
just  at  the  time  when  ideals  are  taking  their  deepest  root, 
when  aml)itions  are  shaping,  and  just  at  the  time  when  the 
dignity  and  strength  of  a  life  work  makes  its  strongest  appeal. 
Prejudice  the  mind  of  the  boy  at  that  age  and  we  add  inex- 
pressibly to  the  difficulty  with  which  the  Spirit  of  God  will 
reach  him  for  the  ministry.  Not  the  veteran  worn  with  the 
toil  of  the  years,  who  thrills  his  heart  like  the  uncertain  steps 
of  an  old  soldier,  but  the  position  of  mendicancy  in  which  the 
man  who  has  bravely  done  his  work  is  placed — that  is  what 
helps  to  close  the  heart  of  many  a  youth  against  the  Spirit's 
voice. 

The  Lure  of  Other  Calltxgs 

The  dignity  and  importance  of  the  ministry  suffer  further, 
in  comparison  with  the  substantial  appeal  made  to  the  youth 
of  the  Church,  by  other  callings,  and  the  community  attitude 
toward  these.  The  teaching  profession  is  being  more  and  more 
placed  upon  a  basis  of  ample  provision  for  the  final  years,  not 
as  a  charity  but  as  a  just  compensation  for  service  rendered 
the  community.  Its  importance  to  society  and  its  essential 
greatness  are  thereby  attested.  The  ministry  is  far  more 
fundamental  to  world  uplift,  but  the  present  provision  of  the 
Church  for  the  man  who  has  given  his  life  to  it  does  not 
certify  that  fact  to  the  youth  of  the  Church.  A  provision 
which  secures  the  comfort  of  the  minister  in  the  years  when 
his  strength  has  been  spent,  and  secures  it  on  a  basis  of  self- 
respect,  will  more  convincingly  evaluate  to  the  rising  genera- 
tion the  dignity  of  apostleship  than  any  eloquence  poured  out 
to  establish  its  greatness. 

One  of  the  first  duties  of  the  Christian  lapnan  is  to  place 
the  ministry  upon  a  basis  that  will  say,  not  in  word  but  in  sub- 
stantial fact,  to  every  youth  seeking  the  place  in  which  to 
invest  his  life,  "Here  is  a  task  we  hold  to  be  above  every  task 
in  dignity  of  its  o\^^l  and  in  the  significance  of  its  results. 
If  God  will  let  you  enter  it.  His  Church  will  see  to  it  that 
your  every  care  and  energy  may  be  spent  for  His  Kingdom 


THE  CALL  TO  PKEACII  35 

and     not     in     anxious     solicitation     concerning    the     years 
ahead." 

The  Minister's  Hearthstone 

There  is  another  word  that  must  not  he  left  unsaid.  Every 
minister  has  sacred  right  to  the  hearthstone  and  the  dear  faces 
around  it.  That  he  may  come  near  the  heart  of  the  race,  love 
and  home  are  God's  sweet  gifts  to  him.  While  no  woman  is 
worthy  a  place  at  the  side  of  God's  chosen  prophet,  who  is  not 
willing  to  suffer  with  him  to  the  end,  if  need  be,  yet  no  man 
is  w^orthy  either  to  be  the  prophet  of  God,  an  example  to  the 
people,  or  the  husband  of  a  noble  woman,  who  is  willing  to  see 
her  suffer.  And  in  many  a  brave  young  man's  heart  there  is 
at  this  point  a  moral  struggle  that  breaks  up  the  very  deeps 
of  his  life.  As  fine  and  sweet  a  bit  of  unheralded  heroism  as 
I  know  is  where  two  souls,  in  the  face  of  promised  worldly 
comfort  and  plenty  in  other  tasks,  and  with  examples  of 
aged  penury  for  the  prophet,  go  out  together  accepting  if 
need  be  the  latter  rather  than  lose  the  heavenly  vision.  But 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  no  moral  right  to  darken 
that  sacred  experience  in  the  life  of  God's  chosen  prophet  by 
the  cloud  of  fear  and  apprehension  for  the  future;  no  moral 
right  to  place  in  the  path  at  that  holy  moment  the  terrific 
temptation  to  retreat  by  creating  a  struggle  between  love  and 
duty.  As  clear  and  as  definite  as  is  God's  call  to  the  two  who 
stand  thus  at  the  altar  to  go  forth,  even  at  the  risk  of  want, 
is  God's  call  to  the  great  and  wealthy  Church  to  whose  service 
they  consecrate  their  lives,  to  see  to  it  that  there  shall  be  no 
want  to  fear,  and  that  such  a  struggle  shall  be  forever  un- 
necessary, 

EuRAL  Ministry 

The  call  to  certain  specific  types  of  ministry,  of  greatest 
importance,  is  seriously  affected  by  the  failure  of  the  Cliurch 
to  provide  amply  for  the  final  years.  The  rural  ministry  is 
the  very  hope  of  the  Ciiurch  and  indeed  of  Christian  civiliza- 
tion. Three  fourths  of  the  leaders  of  all  the  great  professions 
and  industries  were  born  and  reared  in  the  rural  sections. 
A  very  large  percentage  of  the  urban  Church  membership 
came  from  rural  churches  and  received  their  first  religious 
impressions  there ;  and  over  80  per  cent  of  our  whole  Methodist 
membership  is  now  in  the  country  and  the  lesser  cities.    That 


36  THE  EETIEED  MIXISTEE 

field  under  modern  conditions  and  with  modern  methods  is 
becoming  increasingly  attractive.  It  is  imperative  that  there 
be  raised  up  a  trained  rural  ministry  which  shall  volunteer 
for  life  work  in  that  vast  and  important  field.  This  the 
schools  of  theology  are  endeavoring  to  do.  Few  things  will 
help  more  efi'ectively  to  create  such  a  ministry  than  will  the 
assurance  that  when  work  is  done  there  shall  be  no  wolf  at 
the  door.  Ministerial  support  in  the  rural  work  must  in  the 
nature  of  the  case  continue  to  be  small,  and  little  or  nothing 
can  be  laid  by.  Much  of  the  eagerness  to  pass  from  the 
country  to  the  city  pastorate  originates  in  the  desire  to  pro- 
vide for  the  future.  Better  far  that  the  Church  provide  for 
the  future  and  send  a  host  of  strong,  well-trained  men  to 
perform  that  most  significant  of  tasks. 

City  Problems 

This  is  not  less  true  of  the  pioneer  sections  where  vast 
harvest  fields  will  wave  white  for  the  reaper  in  the  not  dis- 
tant future  if  the  planting  is  done  before  the  tares  have 
choked  the  ready  and  fertile  soil.  Numberless  villages  are 
springing  out  of  the  earth  at  the  touch  of  the  magic  wand 
of  "profit,"  centers  of  coming  empires.  To-day  is  the  critical 
time  which  will  decide  the  type  of  their  coming  civilization. 
To-day  is  the  time  when  they  should  receive  the  indelible 
stamp  of  Christian  ideals,  which  will  only  be  given  by  the 
man  sent  of  God  and  the  Church.  It  is  a  heroic  task,  done 
in  a  noble  fashion  by  our  fathers  in  the  faith.  But  the  con- 
ditions that  face  the  prophet  to-day  are  vastly  different  from 
those  under  which  our  fathers  toiled.  It  is  an  age  which 
not  only  lifts  the  standard  of  comfort  and  respectability  and 
decency  far  higher,  but  likewise  an  age  when  the  purchasing 
power  of  the  ministers^  pittance  is  far  less  than  it  was  then. 
God  would  call  to  that  heroic  task  some  of  the  most  virile 
and  stalwart  youth  in  the  Church.  It  will  help  Him  beyond 
estimate,  if  His  Church  will  stand  with  Him  and  pledge 
these  modern  pioneers  that  their  faithful  toil  of  to-day  in 
those  fields  of  meager  remuneration  will  lay  up  for  them 
treasures  on  earth  as  well  as  in  heaven,  which  the  Church 
will  give  to  them  in  the  years  of  rest  and  setting  sun.  All  we 
have  said  of  these  two  special  forms  of  the  ministry  is  equally 


THE  CALL  TO  PREACH  37 

true  of  the  ministry  whose  gigantic  task  it  is  to  evangelize 
the  vast  multitudes  from  foreign  shores. 

Even  though  it  were  true  that  none  whom  God  nuiy  call 
would  hesitate  because  of  the  Church's  failure  to  provide, 
yet  the  Church  has  no  moral  right  to  capitalize  devotion  to 
duty.  Yonder  across  their  early  teens  comes  shouting  and 
glad  a  mighty  company  whose  faces  are  beautiful  with  hope. 
With  them  comes  One  upon  whom  all  hopes  depend,  lie  is 
choosing  as  he  walks  with  them,  with  voice  so  still  they  scarce 
can  hear  it,  choosing  those  who  are  to  go  forth  w^ith  Him 
to  the  conquest  of  the  world.  And  as  He  chooses,  I  think 
I  hear  Him  say  to  His  Church  in  a  voice  that  has  accent  of 
command,  "See  to  it,  0  Church  of  Mine,  that  these  I  choose 
may  go  with  me  in  a  devotion  undivided,  a  consecration 
untormented  by  fears  of  the  future,  for  it  is  because  of  my 
faitli  in  my  Cliurch  that  I  bid  them  ^Come  with  me,  and 
be  not  anxious  for  to-morrow.' " 

Boston,  Mass.  L.  J.  Birney. 


A  PASTOR 
Dr.  John  G.  Holland 

He  knows  but  Jesus  Christ,  the  crucified. 

Ah,  little  recks  the  worldling  of  the  worth 

Of  such  a  man  as  this  upon  the  earth! 

Who  gives  himself — his  all — to  make  men  wise 

In  doctrines  which  his  life  exemplifies. 

The  years  pass  on,  and  a  great  multitude 
Still  find  in  him  a  character  whose  light 
Shines  round  him  like  a  candle  in  the  night; 
And  recognize  a  presence  so  benign. 
That  to  the  godless  even  it  seems  divine. 

He  bears  his  people's  love  within  his  heart. 
And  envies  no  man,  whatsoe'er  his  part. 
His  church's  record  grows,  and  grows  again. 
With  names  of  saintly  women-folks  and  men. 
And  many  a  worldling,  many  a  wayward  youth, 
He  counts  among  the  trophies  of  his  truth. 

O,  happy  man!     There  is  no  man  like  thee. 

Worn  out  in  service  of  humanity. 

And  dead  at  last,  'mid  universal  tears. 

Thy  name  a  fragrance  in  the  speaker's  breath, 

And  thy  divine  example  life  in  death. 


J 


38  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

"A  RIPER,  :M0RE   TRANSCENDENT  YOUTH" 

Just  sixty-two?     Then  trim  thy  light, 

And  get  thy  jewels  all  reset; 
'Tis  past  meridian,  but  still  bright, 
And  lacks  some  hours  of  sunset  yet. 
At  sixty-two 
Be  strong  and  true, 
Scour  off  thy  rust,  and  shine  anew. 
'Tis  yet  high  day;  thy  staff  resume, 

And  fight  fresh  battles  for  the  truth; 
For  what  is  age  but  youth's  full  bloom, 
A  riper,  more  transcendent  youth? 
A  wedge  of  gold 
Is  never  old; 
Streams  broader  grow  as  downward  rolled. 
At  sixty-two  life  is  begun; 

At  seventy-three  begin  once  more; 
Fly  swiftly  as  you  near  the  sun. 
And  brighter  shine  at  eighty-one. 
At  ninety-five. 
Should  you  arrive. 
Still  wait  on  God,  and  work  and  thrive. 
Keep  thy  locks  wet  with  morning  dew, 

And  freely  let  thy  graces  flow; 
For  life  well  spent  is  ever  new, 
And  years  anointed  younger  grow. 
So  work  away. 
Be  young  for  aye. 
From  sunset,  breaking  unto  day. 


A  RAIN  OF  THE  ROSES 
Robert  Lorrmat"^ 

"It  isn't  raining  rain  to  me. 

It's  raining  daffodils; 
In  every  dimpled  drop  I  see 

Wild  flowers  on  the  hills. 
The  clouds  of  gray  engulf  the  day 

And  overwhelm  the  town; 
It  isn't  raining  rain  to  me. 

It's  raining  roses  down. 
"It  isn't  raining  rain  to  me, 

But  fields  of  clover  bloom, 
Where  every  buccaneering  bee. 

May  find  a  bed  and  room; 
A  health  unto  the  happy, 

A  fig  to  him  who  frets. 
It  isn't  raining  rain  to  me. 

It's  raining  violets." 


A  RETIRING 
COMPETENCY 

AND 
MINISTERIAL  EFFICIENCY 

BISHOP 
FRANCIS    J.    McCONNELL,    D.D.,   LL.D. 


I  was  very  much  impressed  once  when  I  heard  Dr. 
Hingeley  say  that  he  thought  the  emphasis  on  the  old 
preacher  as  a  subject  for  benevolence  had  been  overdone,  and 
I  was  very  much  pleased  when  in  the  Veteran  Preaclier  he 
quoted  a  remark  of  a  Bishop  to  the  effect  that  he  had 
never  known  of  a  Ketired  Minister  of  the  Gospel  starving 
to  death.  I  am  glad  that  the  accent  is  being  placed  at 
another  point.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  when  you  look  up  the 
history  of  the  Church  not  any  of  them  liave  starved  to  death. 
They  have  been  pretty  well  taken  care  of,  but  it  has  not  been 
done  in  a  systematic  way,  nor  according  to  a  regular  plan; 
and  we  have  begun  to  place  the  accent  on  inherent  right  and 
justice  under  the  compelling  motive  of  gratitude. 

For  myself,  I  am  not  so  very  much  impressed  when  a  man 
says,  "We  must  make  some  kind  of  a  retiring  fund  in  order 
to  make  the  proper  appeal  to  young  men."  There  is  some- 
thing in  it,  perliaps,  but  if  that  is  what  young  men  are  think- 
ing of  they  are  not  exactly  of  the  type  that  have  gone 
before  them.  I  can  see  force  in  the  argument  that  we  are  in 
line  with  the  great  social  movement.  In  these  days  we  are 
insisting  more  and  more  that  organizations  of  all  kinds  shall 
prepare  for  and  anticipate  the  needs  of  the  old  age  of  those 
who  serve  in  the  day  of  their  strength.  But  it  seems  to  me 
there  is  one  line  of  argument  in  these  days  that  we  cannot 
sufficiently  stress,  important  as  the  other  lines  may  be,  and 
that  is  the  need  of  making  the  present  ministry  more  effective. 

Old  Age  Investments 

There  are  some  things  of  a  very  simple  kind  that,  as  far 
as  my  limited  observation  goes,  do  cut  into  the  effectiveness 
of  ^lethodist  ministers,  and  one  thing  is  the  temptation  to 

39 


40  THE  RETIEED  MIXISTER 

make  some  kind  of  an  mvestment  out  of  their  limited  sal- 
aries, that  will  surely  provide  for  old  age.  One  picture  in 
my  mind  here  to-night  is  the  picture  of  a  Methodist  Bishop, 
not  now  living,  who  once,  when  I  was  a  good  deal  younger 
than  I  now  am,  came  to  me  to  consult  about  his  finances.  He 
said,  "If  you  had  any  money  to  invest  how  would  you  go 
about  it?"  I  was  a  good  deal  in  the  position  of  a  colored 
brother  who  was  asked  to  change  a  ten-dollar  bill,  who  said, 
"I  cannot  change  the  bill,  boss,  but  I  thanks  you  for  the 
compliment.'^  I  felt  a  good  deal  like  that  when  talking  to 
this  venerable  Bishop,  and  said  this  perfectly  commonplace 
thing,  "If  I  had  money  to  invest  I  w^ould  put  it  in  sure 
bonds,  yielding  four  or  four  and  a  half  per  cent,  and  if  I 
could  get  five  per  cent,  I  would  take  that."  There  is  some- 
thing pathetic  in  the  picture  of  that  man  saying,  "I  do  not 
dare  to  do  that.  I  do  not  care  to  have  my  wife  thrown  on 
the  generosity  of  the  Church  w^hen  I  am  gone,  and  I  have 
to  take  some  risk;  so  my  money  is  in  stocks."  If  we  could 
gather  before  us  the  Methodist  ministers  who  have  tried  to 
make  investments  in  order  to  care  for  their  old  age,  we  would 
find  a  great  host;  and  may  be  I  am  touching  a  tender  spot 
to-night;  but  really  this  thing,  insignificant  as  it  may  appear 
at  first  glance,  does  cut  into  the  effectiveness  of  ministers. 
They  do  make  investments.  Some  smooth  man  tells  them 
all  is  right,  and  the  first  thing  they  know  everything  is  gone. 
If  that  does  not  cut  into  the  effectiveness  of  a  Methodist 
minister  I  do  not  know  what  will. 

I  have  a  book  at  home  that  tells  how  to  promote  certain 
speculative  enterprises.  I  did  not  get  it  because  I  desired 
hints  in  that  direction.  It  tells  what  classes  of  persons  to 
send  circulars  to,  and  it  groups  ministers  in  two  classes.  It 
says  that  in  some  denominations  the  preachers  receive  larger 
salaries  than  in  the  others,  and — I  use  its  language — it  tells 
how  to  get  at  the  "easy  marks."  In  the  first  group  are  the 
Presbyterians  and  the  Episcopalians,  and  in  the  second  group 
are  the  Methodists  and  Baptists.  They  put  us  in  the  second 
class  because  we  do  not  have  large  sums  of  money  to  invest, 
not  because  we  are  any  the  less  eager  to  invest.  It  is  appar- 
ently an  insignificant  thing,  but,  nevertheless,  one  of  the 
best  ways  to  increase  the  effectiveness  of  a  Methodist  minister 
is  to  give  him  no  excuse  to  worry  about  investments, 


MINISTERIAL  EFFICIENCY  41 

Giving  All  to  the  Work 

There  is  another  duty  that  occurs  to  me,  and  it  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  benevolent  phases  of  the  problem  but  only  with 
the  effectiveness  of  the  present  ministry,  and  that  is  the 
doing  of  all  we  can  to  keep  the  ministers  from  getting  into 
outside  enterprises,  and  to  keep  them  where  they  will  be  giv- 
ing all  their  thought  as  well  as  their  time  to  the  service  of 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Another  man  comes  to  my  mind  who 
graduated  from  an  Eastern  university  and  afterwards  went 
into  the  ministry,  and  took  the  very  largest  appointments  in 
a  great  Conference  in  the  Central  West,  and  was  really  a 
great  man  until  he  began  to  get  interested  in  all  manner  of 
side  enterprises.  I  remember  that  at  one  time  he  had  man- 
aged to  get  together  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  went  into  a 
farming  enterprise,  investing  all  his  money  in  what  Dr. 
Borden  P.  Bowne  used  to  call  ^^the  inhabitants  of  the  sty." 
After  he  had  invested  all  his  money  in  them,  forgetful  of 
the  fact  of  their  liability  to  infirmities,  one  night  they  woke 
up  squealing,  and  two  or  three  days  afterward  ceased  to 
squeal,  and  all  his  money  and  the  money  of  several  other 
preachers  had  gone.  They  were  doing  what  the  Bishop  said 
he  had  to  do — they  had  been  taking  risks.  Soon  things  were 
made  uncomfortable  for  him  in  his  Conference.  That  man 
to-day,  with  a  long  and  successful  career  in  the  pastorate 
behind  him,  is  selling  odds  and  ends  in  a  Western  city.  I 
would  not  say  that  his  Avorry  over  the  future  had  everything 
to  do  with  this,  but  it  grew  from  that  start. 

If  we  wish  to  keep  men  down  to  the  right  kind  of  preach- 
ing, let  their  minds  have  nothing  to  do  with  worry  for  the 
future ;  and  if  we  wish  to  keep  men  to  a  bold  utterance,  make 
it  possible  for  them  to  keep  these  things  out  of  mind.  When 
men  go  into  the  Methodist  ministry  they  know  that  they  will 
not  receive  such  salaries  as  other  men  receive,  and  that  they 
will  not  retire  on  a  large  pension,  but  if  you  make  it  sure 
that  they  need  not  worry  about  the  future  it  will  all  come 
back  in  the  effectiveness  with  which  they  work.  A  certain 
great  military  hero  was  sent  to  do  a  singularly  hazardous 
piece  of  work.  He  came  back  alive,  and  somebody,  anxious 
to  know  the  thrill  he  had,  asked  what  his  feelings  were  as 
he  went  forward  to  that  fearfully  hazardous  task.     lie  re- 


42  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

plied  that  ^'the  greatest  feeling  of  satisfaction  I  had  was 
the  knowledge  that  in  case  I  went  down,  I  had  the  future 
arranged  for,  so  far  as  my  own  private  affairs  Avere  con- 
cerned, and  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  would 
care  for  those  dependent  upon  me.  These  were  the  things  in 
my  mind  as  I  went  into  that  place  of  danger." 

MiA^isTERiAL  Boldness 

"Wendell  Phillips  was  once  asked  what  he  thought  of  the 
ministry.  He  said,  "I  think  the  ministry  is  ill  prepared  in 
one  way.  The  ministers  ought  to  be  so  provided  for  that  they 
will  have  no  thought  concerning  financial  worry.  A  minister 
ought  to  be  a  man  for  whom  in  that  sense  of  the  word  some- 
body will  provide,  so  he  can  speak  the  truth  with  the  utmost 
boldness,  without  any  fear  of  consequences."  In  these  days, 
when  men  have  to  rol)uke  evils  and  to  deal  faithfully  with 
those  committed  to  their  care,  at  least  this  much  of  certainty 
ought  to  be  in  their  minds,  that  if  they  will  stand  like 
prophets  of  the  living  God  and  speak  forth  words  of  prophecy, 
they  need  not  worry  concerning  the  future.  We  are  to  follow 
in  John  Wesley's  footsteps  and  be  men  of  one  work,  and  if  we 
lose  a  certain  boldness  and  begin  to  care  for  the  things  of 
this  life,  a  large  part  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  ministry 
of  the  present  day  to  the  present  generation  will  be  gone. 

I  am  glad  that  we  are  getting  the  emphasis  off  poverty  and 
are  ceasing  to  talk  of  the  hardships  of  the  older  ministers, 
and  are  placing  the  Veterans'  Cause  on  a  systematic  basis  and 
getting  down  to  the  fact  that  what  we  are  after  all  along  the 
line  is  an  effective  ministry.  We  are  beginning  to  get  hold 
of  the  young  because  we  know  how  much  depends  upon  them, 
and  we  are  training  them  from  the  start;  and  we  try  to  get 
hold  of  the  young  men  and  to  train  them  from  the  start  for  an 
educated  ministry,  and  we  are  doing  this  other  thing,  not 
merely  because  of  the  justice  of  so  doing,  but  for  the  prac- 
tical success  of  the  ministry  in  this  day  of  the  world,  and 
to  make  it  a  more  effective  instrument,  so  that  Methodist 
preachers  can  give  themselves  whole-heartedly  to  the  entire 
work  to  which  they  are  sent,  by  being  relieved  of  care  for 
their  future  old  age. 

Denver,  Colo.  Francis  J.  McConnell. 


SAVING 

vs. 

EFFICIENCY 

THE  REV.  J.  W.  VAN  CLEVE,  D.D. 

Vice-President  Board  of  Conference  Claimants 


Large  Salaries  or  Pensions.  The  words  which  form  the 
title  of  this  paper  define  a  real  and  vital  issue.  In  the  matter 
of  caring  for  Eetired  Ministers  we  are  shut  up  to  a  choice 
between  two  possible  solutions.  One  is  to  pay  the  preacher 
a  salary  with  a  liberal  surplus  above  living  expenses  and  then 
leave  him  to  his  own  devices.  Whether  he  shall  spend  his 
old  age  in  comfort  or  in  penury  is  to  depend  wholly  upon  his 
own  frugality  and  wisdom.  If  he  fails  to  save  his  money 
and  to  keep  it^  then  he  is  to  be  left  to  suffer  the  consequences 
of  his  neglect,  precisely  as  other  shiftless  people  do.  This 
policy  makes  a  fine  superficial  show  of  wisdom  and  justice, 
of  the  distinctively  worldly  type,  but  from  the  higher  view- 
point it  discloses  discouraging  gaps.  The  alternative  is  to 
pay  the  minister  a  fair  working  salary,  while  he  is  fit  for  work, 
and  to  encourage  him  to  spend  his  salary  for  his  equipment 
and  development  by  providing  a  comfortable  pension  for 
his  failing  years.  It  is  almost  the  reverse  of  the  other  plan 
in  that  it  makes  the  future  of  the  minister  depend  wholly 
upon  his  ministerial  service. 

Combination  Policy  Fallacious.  The  time-worn  policy 
of  trying  to  combine  these  two  into  a  scheme  which  offers 
neither  sufficient  savings  nor  sufficient  Church  support,  and 
pieces  out  a  little  savings  from  a  slender  salary,  with  a  little 
giving  from  the  Church  later  on,  cannot  be  accepted  as  a  real 
solution.  It  is  a  perpetual  temporizing  without  either  a 
rational  basis  or  an  adequate  result.  No  solution  can  be 
acceptable  or  final,  which  does  not,  in  its  general  outlines, 
commend  itself  to  tlie  men  who  are  most  deeply  and  directly 
concerned  in  it  as  just  and  equal.     No  such  conviction  of 

43 


44  THE  RETIRED  MTXISTER 

su])stantial  justice  can  ever  be  produced  by  this  policy  of 
patchwork.  The  very  attempt  to  administer  such  a  policy 
involves  us  in  immediate  perplexity  over  questions  concerning 
relative  economic  deservings — questions  that  will  not  be 
pushed  aside,  but  which  cannot  well  be  answered. 

The  Question  of  Fkugaltty.  Should  the  man  who  has 
neglected  to  save  money  receive  for  that  reason  a  larger  allow- 
ance, so  that  he  may  live  as  comfortably  as  his  more  frugal 
brother?  If  we  have  supplied  a  man  with  an  income  that 
would  enable  him  to  save,  and  have  done  this  in  order  that 
he  might  save,  ought  he  not  to  be  required  to  save  or  be  pen- 
alized for  his  failure  so  to  do?  Should  not  the  frugal  man 
profit  by  his  frugality  ?  If  they  are  to  receive  an  equal  allow- 
ance, shall  it  be  large  enough  to  provide  a  reasonable  degree 
of  comfort  for  the  improvident  man,  or  just  enough  to  afford 
a  bare  subsistence  for  the  man  who  has  lived  frugally?  If 
the  former  of  these  standards  is  adopted,  then,  in  a  way,  we 
shall  be  paying  both  men  twice,  when  one  of  them  does  not 
need  it;  if  we  adopt  the  latter  we  shall  have  the  unedifying 
spectacle  of  an  old  Methodist  preacher  in  want,  a  thing  which 
we  never  shall  be  able  to  justify  to  the  world.  If  the  question 
of  relative  frugality  and  wastefulness  is  to  be  considered,  how 
shall  it  be  determined?  If  a  man  were  to  ignore  the  needs 
of  his  own  kin — parents,  brothers,  sisters — because  they  were 
not  of  his  immediate  household,  we  would  hardly  commend 
him  for  his  prudence;  and  yet  on  just  such  prudence  might 
depend  the  margin  between  a  surplus  and  a  bare  balancing 
of  receipts  and  expenditures.  Sometimes  a  large  factor  in 
what  passes  for  economy  and  thrift  is  a  species  of  shrewd 
bargaining  which  at  least  contributes  nothing  to  ministerial 
efficiency.  Furthermore,  the  temptation  to  cross  the  line  be- 
tween a  fair  bargain,  and  what  is  popularly  known  as  a  ^^great 
bargain"  is  not  always  resisted.  Ministers  with  a  little  sur- 
plus cash  have  been  known  to  take  advantage  of  the  necessities 
of  the  unfortunate  in  ways,  that,  while  technically  honest, 
were  nevertheless  calculated  to  cast  a  lasting  shadow  of  re- 
proach upon  the  Church  and  the  ministry.  Again,  what  calls 
itself  by  the  name  of  economy  may  be  a  lack  of  liberality.  No 
small  hindrance  to  the  benevolent  work  of  the  Church  has 
come  from  the  penuriousness  of  well-to-do  preachers.  The 
matter  of  frugality  is  far  from  being  as  simple  as  it  looks. 


SAVING  VS.  EFFICIENCY  45 

How  will  it  be  possible  among  so  many  factors  to  decide 
whether  a  man  is  to  be  accounted  as  frugal  or  as  something 
less  commendable  ?  Every  man  is  convinced  that  he  has  used 
all  possible  diligence  and  frugality,  and  will  feel  that  he  has 
been  unjustly  dealt  with  unless  treated  accordingly. 

The  Question"  of  Salaries.  It  is  the  same  issue  which  ap- 
pears in  the  question,  "Ought  not  the  man  who  has  received  a 
smaller  salary  to  be  correspondingly  favored  in  the  dis- 
tribution to  Conference  Claimants?"  The  minister  who 
has  received  $1,500  ought  to  have  saved  more,  and  should 
therefore  be  less  needy,  and  receive  a  smaller  allotment 
than  the  one  who  has  never  received  more  than  $1,000.  This 
also  is  only  a  superficial  securing  of  justice.  Differences  in 
salary  may  count  for  something,  but  often  they  do  not. 
Always  they  count  for  less  than  is  popularly  supposed,  and 
they  are  by  no  means  conclusive  in  individual  cases.  Size  of 
income  is  only  one  factor  in  making  up  the  account.  The 
situations  which  offer  the  larger  salaries  usually  impose  a 
higher  standard  of  living;  the  size  of  a  salary  cannot  be  con- 
sidered wholly  apart  from  the  number  of  people  it  is  to  sup- 
port; the  variant  of  perquisites  evades  all  calculations,  some- 
times being  a  negligible  quantity  and  sometimes  a  noticeable 
addition  to  the  income ;  a  family  handicapped  by  the  frequent 
or  continuous  illness  of  some  of  its  members  is  not  on  equal 
terms  with  one  in  which  health  is  practically  unbroken ;  some 
men  have  a  positive  genius  for  attracting  gifts  and  donations 
outside  of  the  salary,  which  is  lacking  in  other  men  who  are 
equally  good  and  efficient.  These  considerations  are  quite 
enough  to  show  how  indefinite  and  unsatisfactory  must  be 
any  distribution  which  can  be  made  under  this  patchwork 
combination  of  personal  savings  and  Church  contributions. 

Deserving  or  Necessities.  Further  confusion  and  dif- 
ficulty are  introduced  into  the  problems  by  the  commingling 
of  deservings  and  necessities.  Neither  under  this  plan  can 
be  entirely  left  out  of  the  accounting.  The  plan  rests  upon  the 
assumption  that  the  minister  has  earned  a  life-time  support, 
a  part  of  which  is  still  due  and  unpaid.  The  only  tangible 
evidence  that  he  has  not  received  it  is  the  fact  that  he  does 
not  have  it.  This  fixes  as  the  actual  basis  of  his  claim,  not 
his  past  services  or  his  past  receivings  but  his  present  poverty. 
No  matter  how  we  try  to  disguise  it^  this  scheme  makes  the 


46  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

Retired  ^linister  an  object  of  the  charity  of  the  Church.  It 
will  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  obtain  an  adequate  sup- 
port upon  such  a  plea.  Men  do  not  feel  toward  their  charities 
the  compelling  sense  of  obligation  which  binds  them  to  the 
payment  of  their  debts.  Furthermore,  we  shall  not  be  able 
to  secure  for  any  man,  however  worthy,  who  is  an  object  of 
charity  the  respect  which  is  freely  accorded  the  man  who 
lives  upon  an  income  which  is  justly  and  securely  his  own. 
Under  such  a  system,  the  preacher  must  not  only  expose  his 
poverty,  but  he  must  justify  it  in  order  to  establish  his  claim 
to  support.  Before  the  equity  of  his  claim  can  be  fully 
recognized,  he  must  set  at  rest  all  the  questions  heretofore 
enumerated,  which  relate  to  the  wise  and  frugal  use  of  his 
money.  They  may  not  be  asked  explicitly  and  officially,  but 
they  will  be  implied  in  the  minds  of  his  brethren,  and  cannot 
be  ignored  by  those  who  are  to  adjust  his  claim.  In  some  way 
or  other  it  will  be  inquired  whether  or  not  he  is  really  poor 
and  in  need;  how  poor  he  is,  and  how  he  came  to  be  so  poor. 
This  system  converts  what  ought  to  be  a  Roll  of  Honor  into 
something  not  far  from  a  roll  of  dishonor.  It  tends  to  defeat 
itself  by  weakening  the  incentive  to  save.  It  is  a  policy  which 
never  arrives  anywhere.  Instead  of  solving  the  problem  it 
effectually  blocks  the  w^ay  to  a  solution.  One  of  the  two 
propositions  already  stated  must  be  definitely  adopted  and 
definitely  worked  out  in  order  that  we  may  have  a  consistent 
policy  that  we  can  follow  to  the  end. 

An"  Expensive  Policy.  I  present  the  proposition  to  solve 
the  problem  by  paying  such  salaries  as  will  afford  a  good 
margin  for  savings,  because  sometimes  it  seems  to  be  offered  in 
all  seriousness  by  men  who  are  sincere  and  liberal.  Too  often 
it  is  offered  by  men  w^ho  show  no  disposition  to  provide  the 
liberal  salary  required.  The  emphasis  seems  to  be  on  the 
savings  and  not  on  the  salaries,  as  if  the  end  really  sought 
were  to  get  rid  of  responsibility  for  the  support  of  Retired 
Ministers.  No  thoughtful  man  offers  this  plan  as  a  measure 
of  economy.  It  is  the  most  expensive  proposition  ever  pro- 
pounded, if  it  is  to  be  made  genuinely  effective.  A  salary 
which,  by  pinching  economy  under  favoral)le  conditions,  will 
yield  some  little  savings  for  a  very  frugal  man  is  not  enough. 
For  this  plan  a  salary  must  be  paid  which  will  permit  the 
ordinary  man  without  cutting  his  living  expense  below  the 


SAYING  VS.  EFFICIENCY  47 

level  of  efficiency  to  lay  up  enough  to  keep  him  in  comfort 
after  his  working  days  are  over.  If  the  minister  has  saved 
enoug]i  to  keep  liim  in  eomfort  then  it  is  hecause  the  amount 
over  and  above  a  comfortahle  living  has  been  paid  him  l)y  the 
Church.  It  is  held  in  his  own  name  as  his  own  possession  and 
at  his  death  passes  to  his  heirs.  In  this  way  the  Church  loses 
all  further  henefit  from  it,  and  must  immediately  begin  to 
provide  a  like  sum  for  the  man  who  follows  him.  If  the 
Church  either  as  an  organization,  or  by  its  individual  mem- 
bers, holds  this  sum  in  its  own  possession,  paying  the  income 
of  it  to  the  Eetired  Minister,  then  at  his  death  it  may  begin 
to  use  the  same  funds  for  the  support  of  another  man. 

Embarrassing  Gaps.  This  proposition  is  not  only  ex- 
pensive but  displays  embarrassing  gaps.  It  misses  the  case 
of  the  man  wdio  lacks  the  gift  to  save.  Such  a  man  is  not  to 
be  reproached  for  his  deficiency  in  this  respect  any  more  than 
is  the  man  who  lacks  eloquence  to  be  reproached  for  his  defi- 
ciency. In  spite  of  admonitions  and  reproaches  some  men 
seem  never  to  acquire  the  gift  of  acquiring.  Other  men  are 
the  victims  of  persistent  or  repeated  misfortunes  which  make 
savings  impossible.  If  a  policy  were  possible  which  would 
leave  each  man  to  care  for  himself  with  his  own  savings,  it 
w^ould  simply  condemn  all  men  in  these  two  classes  to  inevi- 
table want.  In  spite  of  its  outward  show  of  justice,  we  some- 
how cannot  help  feeling  that  for  a  Methodist  preacher,  who 
has  been  a  faithful  servant  of  God  and  of  the  people,  to  be 
in  want  for  the  ordinary  comforts  of  life,  or  to  spend  his  last 
days  in  a  poorhouse,  or  to  be  placed  in  the  position  of  becom- 
ing a  dependent  upon  charity,  would  be  an  unseemly  thing. 

The  Efficiency  Test.  But  pass  by  these  considerations 
and  put  the  issue  betw^een  these  two  policies  squarely  upon  the 
point  of  efficiency. 

I  quote  from  an  article  relative  to  teachers'  pensions,  con- 
tributed to  the  Outlook  by  Martha  Bensley  Bruere.  We  need 
scarcely  do  more  than  substitute  "preacher"  for  "teacher'^  in 
order  to  make  the  article  serve  the  j^urpose  of  this  discussion, 
for  the  principle  is  identical  and  the  facts  parallel. 

Teaching  Efficiency  Marred.  "I  have  before  me  the 
family  budgets  of  a  series  of  high  school  teachers  and  college 
professors,  men  on  salaries  ranging  from  $1,200  to  $4,000  a 
year,  and  living  across  the  country  from  Maine  to  California. 


48  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

In  every  case  but  one  it  is  easy  to  see  how  old  age  and  the  fear 
of  it  is  like  a  paralyzing  hand  to  mar  the  efficiency  of  their 
homes.  The  fear  of  the  future  drives  these  men  to  save  as  the 
only  way  to  provide  for  the  future,  and  tends  to  reduce  below 
the  efficiency  line  the  amount  of  money  they  are  at  liberty  to 
spend  on  their  homes  and  their  professional  equipment/^ 

Two  items  from  the  budget  of  a  high  school  teacher  receiv- 
ing a  salary  of  $1,800  a  year  are  Insurance  $140,  Savings 
Bank  $325.  These  represent  the  drain  on  the  family  income 
in  order  to  provide  for  the  future.  The  insurance  is  a  slight 
defense  for  the  family  in  case  of  death  of  the  bread-winner, 
and  would  probably  yield  scarcely  enough  to  provide  a  home. 
The  bank  item  represents  a  provision  for  old  age  none  too 
large  for  its  purpose.  If  it  were  to  continue  for  thirty  years, 
with  no  draft  for  sickness,  non-employment,  accident  or 
other  emergency,  it  would  scarcely  amount  to  more  than 
enough  to  provide  an  income  of  $400  a  year.  Over  against 
these  items  put  the  following  from  the  same  budget:  "Food, 
$180;  Papers,  Magazines,  etc.,  $7;  Vacation,  $50.^^ 

From  the  letter  of  a  professor's  wife  which  accompanied 
her  budget  the  following  excerpts  are  taken : 

"You  will  see  from  this  schedule  that  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  I  should  do  all  my  work,  including  my  laundering. 
Trying  to  put  our  children  through  Eastern  Colleges  was  too 
much  for  some  of  us,  for  I  have  been  under  a  severe  mental 
strain,  and  our  daughter  has  been  in  a  sanitarium  for  months 
because  of  a  nervous  break-down.^^  "After  my  husband  out- 
lives his  usefulness  he  and  I  will  have  to  live  on  $250  a  year." 

The  writer  of  the  article  asked  the  head  of  a  great  school 
system  this  question:  "If  you  knew  that  you  would  have  a 
pension  for  your  old  age,  and  that  your  family  would  be  pro- 
vided for  if  you  died,  would  it  make  any  difference  in  your 
work?"  His  answer  was,  "It  would  make  me  thirty — no, 
forty — per  cent  more  efficient  right  now.  The  thought  of 
what  might  happen  to  them,  if  I  were  scrapped,  is  a  ball  and 
chain  on  my  foot  holding  me  back  from  no  end  of  things  I 
might  and  ought  to  do."  Dr.  Henry  D.  Pritchctt  is  quoted 
as  saying:  "A  large  proportion  of  the  teachers  in  American 
Universities  are  engaged  in  turning  the  grindstone  of  some 
outside  employment  with  one  hand  while  they  carry  on  the 
work  of  teaching  with  the  other." 


SAVING  VS.  EFFICIENCY  49 

Ont.  Exceptio^^  The  one  exception  found  by  the  writer 
of  the  article,  in  which  efficiency  was  not  being  paralyzed  by 
fear  of  the  future,  or  fettered  by  the  struggle  to  save,  was  that 
of  a  teacher  receiving  only  a  moderate  salary  who  was  entitled 
to  a  competent  pension,  with  a  half  allowance  for  his  mfe 
in  case  of  his  death,  so  that  he  was  perfectly  free  to  invest 
the  whole  of  his  salary  in  equipment  and  development. 

Preachers  and  Teachers.  Every  consideration  which 
this  article  advances  relative  to  the  efficiency  of  teachers 
applies  to  the  minister  with  equal  or  even  greater  force.  The 
average  salary  of  the  teachers  of  the  country  is  slightly  in 
advance  of  that  of  the  ministers.  Proportionally  a  larger 
number  of  teachers  are  unmarried  than  of  ministers;  while 
the  longer  vacation  of  the  teacher  offers  an  economic  oppor- 
tunity which  the  minister  does  not  have ;  but  nevertheless  the 
whole  relation  between  savings  and  efficiency  for  the  minister 
is  fairly  set  forth  in  these  extracts. 

Efficiency  Waste.  Their  first  suggestion  is,  that  it  is  not 
wise  to  raise  the  issue,  much  less  to  force  the  issue,  between  the 
hoarding  of  money  for  future  necessity  and  its  use  for  present 
efficiency.  If  we  leave  a  man  to  depend  upon  his  savings  for 
his  comfort  in  retirement,  inevitably  we  raise  this  issue.  No 
one  really  expects  the  salaries  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
ministers  to  be  raised  to  such  a  figure  as  will  enable  them  to 
provide  for  all  reasonable  demands  for  ministerial  equipment, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  lay  up  a  sum  that  will  enable  them 
to  secure  their  future  beyond  peradventure.  There  will  be 
a  constant  tendency  to  pare  down  investment  in  efficiency  to 
the  lowest  possible  limit  in  order  to  allow  increased  invest- 
ment in  savings.  The  loss  in  efficiency  which  results  from  the 
diversion  of  money  to  the  savings  account  is  only  a  part  of 
the  loss.  There  is  a  savings  policy  which  involves  a  certain 
efficiency  waste.  I  do  not  unclervalue  or  oppose  economy.  A 
wise  and  well-directed  economy  is  in  itself  a  wholesome  exer- 
cise. But  it  must  have  behind  it  not  the  lash  of  a  motive 
which  is  a  consumer  of  nerve  force,  but  the  exhilarating  push 
of  a  motive  which  of  itself  is  an  inspiration.  An  economy 
over-driven  by  the  fear  of  want  is  likely  to  waste  over  savings, 
time  and  energy  that  ought  to  be  expended  in  production.  In 
the  period  of  my  ministerial  apprenticeship  a  young  man 
came  to  my  study  with  the  familiar  hard-luck  story,  "Out 


50  THE  T?ETIEED  MTNISTEE 

of  money  and  out  of  work."  His  immediate  needs  were  met. 
He  claimed  to  l)e  a  carpenter,  and  I  persuaded  a  good-natured 
contractor  to  <;'\\e  him  a  jol).  A  few  days  later  I  asked  him 
about  tiie  youn<i^  man.  ^'Tliat  fellow!"  said  the  contractor. 
''I  fired  hini."  '  "What  for?"  1  asked.  ''Wasn^t  lie  a  o-ood 
workman?"  '^He  was  a  i^'ood  enou<;h  workman.  I  fired  him 
for  picking  up  nails.  Every  time  he  dropped  a  nail  he 
stopped  to  pick  it  up.  I  told  him  to  let  the  nails  go,  for  his 
time  was  worth  more  to  me  than  the  nails.  After  I  had  told 
him  about  a  dozen  times  and  he  kept  on,  I  fired  him.  I 
couldn't  afford  to  pay  a  man  carpenter's  wages  to  pick  up 
nails."  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  to-day  our  churches 
are  requiring  the  preacher  to  provide  for  his  own  comfort 
by  "picking  up  nails."  The  proper  direction  for  the  preacher's 
economy  to  take  is  the  effective  investment  of  his  salary  for 
the  enrichment  of  his  ministry.  His  salary  ought  to  be 
estimated  with  that  in  view.  Any  considerable  amount  be- 
yond that  is  almost  sure  to  result  in  the  impairment  of  minis- 
terial life  and  service.  As  the  soldier,  so  the  minister  ought 
not  to  carry  too  many  impedimenta.  Brethren,  if  we  wish  to 
claim  a  soldier's  pension,  we  must  accept  the  conditions  of  a 
soldier's  service. 

Nehvous  Waste.  Close  to  this  lies  the  vivid  sugges- 
tion in  almost  every  one  of  these  extracts  of  the  superior 
efficiency  of  the  man  who  is  freed  from  anxiety  as  to  the 
future  comfort  of  himself  and  his  family.  The  minister's 
efficiency  depends  ultimately  upon  the  condition  of  his 
nervous  system.  A  few  men  may  scout  this  statement  as  fail- 
ing to  give  due  honor  to  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  only  a  few  and 
they  have  not  wisely  considered  this  matter.  There  is  no 
way  by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  can  come  into  a  man's  life  and 
be  passed  on  to  other  lives  without  being  transmitted  over  that 
mysterious  complex  of  living  wires,  the  nervous  system.  If 
they  are  worn  or  broken  or  grounded,  the  transmission  of  the 
divine  message  will  be  obstructed.  We  have  to  consider  not 
only  the  familiar  physical  truth  that  whatever  consumes 
nerve-force  or  depresses  nervous  vitality  lowers  both  mental 
and  physical  efficiency,  but  also  the  surprising  spiritual  truth, 
that  the  waste  or  weakening  or  breaking  of  the  ner\'ous 
system  hinders  the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  marring 
the  instrument  through  which  He  must  operate.     The  way 


SAVING  VS.  EFFICIENCY  51 

to  avoid  this  impairment  of  efficiency  is  to  lift  the  hurden 
of  support  in  age  from  the  minister's  mind  by  i^ledging  the 
Church  for  it  and  backing  the  pledge  with  the  necessary  cash. 

Divided  Interest.  Let  us  apply  to  this  problem  another 
familiar  fact,  the  loss  of  efficiency  through  a  division  of  in- 
terest and  attention.  If  the  minister  must  provide  in  any 
considerable  part  for  his  old  age  he  cannot  have  an  undivided 
mind.  At  this  point  we  are  confronted  by  the  fact  that  for 
the  average  minister  to  provide  for  himself  through  his  sav- 
ings only  is  practically  impossible.  Men  do  not  come  to  the 
possession  of  a  competency  by  the  mere  accumulation  of  sav- 
ings, but  by  the  growth  of  savings  through  profitable  invest- 
ment. Savings  alone  are  not  sufficient.  This  is  why  the 
man  who  has  only  his  savings  to  depend  upon  never  quite 
gets  fear  out  of  his  heart.  The  profitable  investment  and 
management  of  savings  divides  time  and  energy.  The  min- 
ister who  is  involved  in  business  enterprises  and  loaded  with 
business  anxieties  cannot  give  himself  wholly  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry.  The  drag  of  the  outside  interest  never  ceases. 
If  the  minister  seeks  to  unload  this  burden  by  commending 
the  management  of  his  savings  to  some  one  else,  he  will  still 
need  to  be  on  his  guard  lest  the  manager  shall  manage  to 
absorb  the  bulk  of  the  profits,  to  say  nothing  of  the  original 
investment.  One  of  the  saddest  chapters  in  ministerial  life 
is  that  which  contains  the  record  of  the  tragedies  and  failures 
that  have  resulted  from  attempts  of  ministers  to  build  up 
their  pitiful  little  savings  into  a  competency — men  who  have 
been  stripped  of  their  savings,  men  who  have  been  stripped 
of  reputation  and  men  who,  retaining  a  measure  of  both,  have 
been  lured  on  until  their  lives  were  emptied  of  spiritual  power 
while  they,  like  Samson,  '^Vist  not  that  their  strength  was 
dej^arted  from  them."  The  tragedy  of  the  men  who  have 
sought  to  escape  poverty  over  this  road  is  more  bitter  even 
than  the  tragedy  of  those  who,  knowing  and  single-hearted, 
have  gone  steadfastly  on,  not  pleasing  thcmsehes. 

CoxcENTRATiON.  Not  Icast  of  all,  though  often  least  con- 
sidered, is  the  result  of  the  continuous  concentration  of  life 
into  the  minister's  one  great  business.  Every  backward  puU 
of  dread  of  the  future  upon  a  man's  nervous  and  spiritual 
energy,  every  bestowment  of  interest  upon  a  rival  enterprise, 
has  retarded  the  growth  of  ministerial  power,  and  hastened 


52  THE  EKTIRED  MINISTER 

that  staying  of  i)rogress  which  proclaims  the  crossing  of  the 
dead-line.  I  have  in  mind  a  minister,  one  time  a  leader  in 
his  Conference,  who  when  in  his  prime  began  to  provide  for 
his  old  age.  In  a  few  years  his  acceptability  and  usefulness 
were  gone,  and  he  lives  discontented  and  unregarded,  but 
rich;  and  I  have  in  mind  another  minister  whose  hair  is 
white,  and  who  walks  about  in  a  body  that  shows  in  every 
attitude  and  movement  the  traces  of  age,  but  who  seems 
destined  to  preach  with  acceptability  and  power  until  he 
falls  in  the  midst  of  his  work.  He  has  poured  his  whole  life 
into  his  one  sacred  business  and  he  is  as  useful  and  happy 
and  poor  as  any  minister  has  a  right  to  be.  The  plan  which 
compels  a  man  either  to  forego  comfort  in  age  or  to  use  up 
life  in  the  attempt  to  build  his  savings  into  a  comfortable 
fortune ;  which  cuts  off  a  man's  efficiency  just  when  he  ought 
to  be  at  the  zenith  of  his  usefulness,  thus  robbing  the  Church 
of  years  of  service,  is  not  economy.  Not  only  in  length  of 
service  do  we  lose,  but  also  in  its  intensity  and  fulness.  A 
life  which  is  divided  in  its  interests  and  activities  loses  mo- 
mentum every  time  it  turns  aside.  When  it  resumes  its 
course,  it  does  so  with  a  slower  rate  .of  motion ;  and  not  until 
after  a  considerable  time  does  it  recover  what  has  been  lost, 
and  the  gain  which  should  have  been  made  will  never  be  re- 
covered. A  life  divided  and  wavering  between  two  interests 
never  comes  to  its  best.  But  a  life  which  with  perfect 
abandon  pours  its  full  intensity  of  concentrated  energy  into 
the  work  of  the  ministry  experiences  an  accumulation  of 
power  until  the  body  begins  visibly  to  fail. 

Conclusion.  We  conclude  that  the  long-tried,  patching- 
out  policy  is  impossible  of  adjustment,  humiliating  to  the 
ministry,  unworthy  of  a  great  and  self-respecting  Church,  and 
ought  to  be  abandoned  as  speedily  as  possible ;  that  the  policy 
of  requiring  the  minister  to  care  for  his  own  comfort  with 
his  savings  will  either  seriously  reduce  ministerial  equipment 
and  efficiency  without  really  providing  an  adequate  support, 
or  will  require  an  increase  of  salaries  which  passes  the  bounds 
of  reasonable  expectation;  and  that  the  only  righteous  way 
out  is  to  pay  the  minister  a  good  working  salary  while  he 
works  and  a  living  pension  when  he  becomes  old. 

Joseph  W.  Van  Cleve. 

Decatur,  111. 


THE  DEBT  OF  THE 

NATION  TO  THE 

MINISTRY 

THE  REV.  ISAAC  H.  LIDSTONE 

Treasurer  Board  of  Trustees,  East  Maine  Conference 


It  ought  not  to  be  a  difficult  matter,  in  the  Capital  of  the 
Nation,  to  discover  the  amount  of  the  national  debt,  even 
though  the  sum  total  of  that  indebtedness  is  so  large  that  the 
ordinary  man  finds  difficulty  in  comprehending  it.  It  would 
be,  also,  an  easy  matter  to  find  out  how  this  great  debt  was 
incurred;  some  of  it  charged  to  the  Mexican  War,  other  vast 
sums  to  the  Civil  War,  another  sum  to  the  late  war  with 
Spain;  and  still  other  millions  to  the  exigencies  of  administra- 
tion, or  maladministration,  as  the  case  may  be,  when  the 
income  of  the  nation  did  not  equal  its  expenditures.  But 
there  is  a  debt  which  no  man  has  measured,  a  tiling  indeter- 
minate, which  the  most  skillful  accountant  cannot  compute — 
the  debt  of  which  we  speak  at  this  time — the  Debt  of  the 
Nation  to  the  Ministry.  It  would  be  comparatively  easy  to 
tell  of  national  obligations  to  the  few  who,  like  Saul  the  son 
of  Kish,  tower  above  their  fellows,  but  who  can  tell  the  story 
of  the  influence  exerted  by  the  obscure  and  inconspicuous 
toiler  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ!  I  desire  to  recall  the 
nation's  obligations  to  them,  "lest  we  forget,  lest  we  forget." 

Foundations 

We  are  not  far  from  magnificent  structures  dedicated  to 
the  uses  of  tiie  republic.  Like  the  disciples  of  old,  we  miglit 
say,  "See  what  manner  of  buildings  are  these!"  We  are 
filled  with  admiration  for  the  skilled  artisans  who  wrought 
to  the  end  that  symmetry  and  strength  and  beauty  should 
be  combined  in-  these  splendid  buildings.  We  regard  witb 
pleasure  the  harmony  in  coloring,  the  beauty  of  pillar  and 
capital,  the  appropriate  frieze,  the  mural  decorations,  and  the 
inanimate  loveliness  of  the  artist's  dream  which  has  become 

53 


ryi  THE  T^ETIRED  MlNTSTEPt 

visihlo  in  o-i'anite  and  marlilo.  But  avIio  among  us  gives  a 
llioirulit  to  tlio  massive,  unseen  stom\s  of  tlic  foundation? 
Hidden  from  tlie  gaze  of  men.,  tliese  stones  are  as  fine  in  grain 
and  as  endui-ing  as  those  wliieli  adoi'n  tlie  superstruetui'e;  but 
the  skill  of  tlie  artifieer  was  not  lavished  on  them.  Yet  if 
the  rugged  stones  of  the  foundation  should  fail,  ruin  would 
come  to  the  building.  There  are  ministers  who,  like  the 
stones  in  the  foundation  of  the  Capitol,  are  unseen  by  the 
crowd,  and  known  to  but  few  master  builders  of  foundations, 
for  whom  awaits  a  crown  of  eternal  rejoicing. 

The  beginnings  of  this  republic  were  essentially  religious. 
The  Puritan  was  a  mighty  man  in  war,  a  splendid  pioneer, 
and  imdoubtedly  pious,  but  he  was  also  the  personification 
of  militant  intolerance.  He  hated  Baptists,  witches  and 
Catholics;  and  later,  when  he  had  the  opportunity,  he  showed 
but  little  aficction  for  the  Methodists.  He  had  many  virtues, 
although  they  were  at  times  obscured  by  external  unloveli- 
ness.  He  built  his  churches  on  the  hill-top,  and  beside  the 
church  he  built  a  school-house  for  the  instruction  of  his 
sturdy  offspring.  How  did  it  come  to  pass  that  the  Pilgrim 
and  the  Puritan  came  to  the  rugged  coast  of  Massachusetts? 
The  minister,  John  Robinson  of  Delft,  was  the  dominating 
spirit,  the  mainspring  of  the  whole  movement  which  resulted 
in  the  voyage  of  the  Mayflower  and  the  founding  of  the  new 
state.  As  Bishop  Quayle  has  put  it,  "The  clergyman  was  in 
the  veins  of  American  life.  He  was  not  injected.  He  was 
and  always  will  remain  a  constituent  of  the  blood.^^ 

The  religious  element  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  fea- 
tures in  the  founding  of  all  the  colonies.  Roger  AYilliams,  a 
preacher,  flees  for  his  life,  finds  an  asylum  and  founds  a  new 
State  in  Rhode  Island.  William  Penn,  another  preacher, 
founded  the  great  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  H  would 
be  difficult  to  find  anyone  more  thoroughly  religious  than 
the  Roman  Catholic,  Lord  Baltimore.  The  Dutch  Protestants 
founded  New  Amsterdam,  and  Governor  Oglethorpe  brought 
John  Wesley  to  America  in  order  to  implant  the  gospel  leaven 
among  the  citizens  of  Georgia.  The  Huguenots,  persecuted  for 
righteousness^  sake,  settled  the  Carolinas.  Only  in  Virginia 
was  the  Church  an  afterthought,  when  it  had  been  discovered 
that  it  required  more  than  the  valor  of  a  John  Smith  to  estab- 
lish order  and  justice  among  men. 


DEBT  OF  THE  NATION  55 

The  Knight  of  the  Saddlebags 

But  this  IS  not  the  end  of  the  matter  by  any  means.  The 
knight  of  the  saddlebags  was  no  mean  factor  in  making  civil- 
ization real  in  the  West  as  well  as  in  the  East.  To  read  the 
story  of  Bishop  Asbury  is  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
means  used  to  make  this  a  Christian  nation  instead  of  a 
nation  according  to  the  ideals  of  Paine  and  Voltaire.  The 
pioneer  preacher,  who  endured  poverty  and  perils  of  every 
sort  that  he  might  bring  the  good  news  to  those  wdio  were 
scattered  abroad  in  the  wilderness  and  on  the  prairies  of  the 
great  western  domain,  was  not  always  polished  in  speech  and 
manners.  He  could  fight  as  well  as  exhort.  He  knew  Christ 
and  his  sins  forgiven,  and  preached  a  believable  doctrine, 
which  President  Hyde  of  Bowdoin  College  characterized  as 
follows:  "Methodism  was  the  revival  of  grace,  wlien  law  had 
lost  its  grip  and  love  was  dragging  her  anchor,"  The  picture 
which  Peter  Cartwright  draws  for  us  of  the  conditions  of 
Rogues'  Harbor  was  true  to  life  in  other  parts  of  the  frontier 
than  Illinois.  These  men  were  heroes  without  knowing  it, 
knight  errants  of  the  cross  of  Christ !  They  were  the  real  con- 
querors of  the  wilderness.  They  attended  "Brush  College." 
The  wilderness  was  their  Alma  Mater;  the  Bible,  the  Dis- 
cipline, Fletcher's  Checks,  and  tlie  writings  of  John  Wesley 
constituted  their  biblical  and  theological  library;  they  loved 
God,  believed  in  a  very  real  devil,  hated  sin  and  loved  sinners. 
In  the  words  of  an  ancient  doggerel  we  may  say : 

"The  circuit  riders  of  that  day  were  not  so  very  grand. 
They  took  degrees  at  rolling  logs  and  clearing  up  the  land. 
But  when  they  rose  to  preach  it  seemed  that  you  could  smell 
The  fragrant  flowers  of  heaven  and  the  stifling  smoke  of  hell." 

Certainly  they  were  the  rough  stones  in  the  foundations  of 
empire.  They  belonged  to  a  class  of  men  of  whom  the  world 
was  not  wortliy;  and  a  fitting  characterization  of  them  would 
read  like  the  eleventh  chapter  of  He1)rews.  The  itinerant 
ministry  became  cultured  without  losing  its  old-time  stamina, 
and  is  still  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit  and  of  power.  The  wilderness  is  no  longer  the 
pro})lem,  but  newer  and  more  difficult  prol)lems  have  arisen 
amid  the  complexities  of  modern  life,  which  try  the  souls  of 


56  THE  RETIEED  MINISTEK 

men  and  their  capacity  to  meet  them,  as  certainly  as  the 
fathers  had  to  meet  the  old  problems  which  tried  their  souls. 

The  Preacher  a  Moral  Force 

Let  me  speak  now  of  the  preacher  as  a  force  in  the  realm 
of  morals.  I  am  not  yet  fifty  years  old,  but  I  have  seen 
some  things  which  strengthen  my  faith  in  the  power  of  the 
gospel  when  it  is  preached  by  a  man  who  is  unafraid  and 
whose  heart  God  has  touched.  I  once  knew  a  community 
whose  immoralities  were  most  striking  and  disheartening. 
So  low  were  its  ideals  that  two  men  swapped  wives  without 
the  formality  of  a  divorce,  one  man  giving  the  other  an  ox 
chain  to  boot.  A  Baptist  preacher  came  to  that  town  and 
though  amazed  by  what  he  saw,  he  believed  that  the  gospel 
could  do  what  the  law  had  failed  to  do,  and  began  a  campaign 
for  the  salvation  of  that  community.  He  consorted  witii 
the  lowly,  and  like  his  Master  became  the  friend  of  the  out- 
cast. Presently  some  were  convicted  of  sin  and  turned  to  the 
Lord.  The  good  work  went  on,  the  Sunday  school  became  a 
popular  institution,  and  the  prayer  meeting  a  place  of  amaz- 
ing interest  and  power.  Eespectable  folk  saw  what  God  had 
wrought  and  turned  to  the  Lord.  That  was  yesterday.  What 
are  the  conditions  to-day?  "Old  things  have  passed  away, 
behold  all  things  have  become  new.^^  Honesty  and  chastity 
prevail  and  the  local  magistrate,  once  so  necessary,  has  disap- 
peared. I  preached  in  a  Methodist  church  in  that  region  and 
saw  a  number  of  these  people,  "clothed  and  in  their  right 
mind."  That  Baptist  minister  had  done  what  the  law  had 
failed  to  do.  He  belongs  to  a  brotherhood  who  constitute  the 
militant  phalanx  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

I  live  in  the  State  of  Maine.  I  love  every  crested  hill  of 
her  rugged  landscape.  I  love  her  forests,  aglow  with  the 
glories  of  autumn  and  rioting  in  gold  and  crimson  amid  the 
deep  green  of  the  firs.  I  love  her  rugged  sea-coast  in  all  its 
moods  of  storm  and  calm.  I  love  the  salt  breath  of  the  ocean 
when  Boreas  and  Euroclydon  crest  every  rugged  reef  with 
spume  until  they  foam  like  the  frothing  of  some  fabled 
monster.  But  that  which  makes  me  proud  of  Maine  is  not 
her  wealth  or  scenic  beauty,  nor  her  abundant  harvests,  her 
orchards,  lakes  or  hills,  her  happy  homes,  her  prosperous  and 
growing  cities  or  splendid  institutions.     I  love  the  Old  Pine 


J)EBT  OF  THE  NATION  57 

Tree  State,  because  of  the  fact  that  no  saloon  keejoer  or  brewer 
can  look  me  in  the  face  and  say,  "I  am  doing  business  with 
the  sanction  of  the  law/'  But  there  was  a  time  when  the 
conscience  of  Maine  slept,  while  iniquity  was  sanctioned  for 
a  price,  and  law  was  nullified  by  the  aid  of  legal  devices; 
when  political  parties  came  together  in  convention  and  de- 
clared their  fervent  allegiance  to  the  prohibitory  law,  and  then 
forgot  it,  being  in  favor  of  the  law  but  against  its  enforce- 
ment.   Then  came  a  man  who  reached  Holland's  ideal : 

"God  give  us  men!     A  time  like  this  demands 
Strong  minds,  brave  hearts,  true  faith,  and  ready  hands. 
Men  whom  the  lust  of  office  cannot  kill; 
Men  whom  the  spoils  of  office  cannot  buy; 
Men  who  have  opinions  and  a  will; 
Men  who  have  honor  and  who  will  not  lie; 
Men  who  can  face  the  treacherous  demagogue. 
And  damn  his  flatteries  without  winking; 
Tall  men,  sun-crowned,  who  live  above  the  fog 
In  public  duty,  and  in  private  thinking. 
For  while  the  rabble  with  their  thumb-worn  creeds. 
Their  large  pretensions  and  their  little  deeds. 
Mingle  in  selfish  strife,  lo!  Freedom  weeps. 
Wrong  rules  the  world,  and  waiting  justice  sleeps." 

Wilbur  F.  Berry,  a  Methodist  preacher,  was  that  man. 
He  came  to  us  w4th  a  message.  He  woke  us  from  our  decade- 
long  sleep.  He  showed  us  the  majesty  of  the  law  and  the  rela- 
tion of  the  citizen  to  its  enforcement.  He  laughed  our  cow- 
ardice to  shame;  and  Maine  awoke.  He  has  a  jail  sentence 
hanging  over  him,  but  he  does  not  go  to  jail;  for  some- 
times the  devil  is  wiser  than  we  think.  That  is  the  reason 
that  Dr.  Berry  does  not  go  to  jail.  We  still  have  our  prohib- 
itory law,  and  from  the  life  and  lips  of  a  Methodist  preacher 
we  are  learning  that  the  price  of  liberty  and  sobriety  is 
eternal,  sleepless  vigilance. 

This  is  but  one  instance  of  many  that  I  could  cite  in  which 
the  minister  has  saved  the  day  for  law  and  order  and  awak- 
ened communities  to  the  peril  of  lawlessness.  For  good 
morals  are  as  nearly  related  to  economics  as  to  righteousness. 
Sin  is  a  burden  not  only  to  the  soul,  but  on  the  taxpayer. 
The  true  minister  is  a  constructive  statesman.  He  is  a 
builder  of  citizens  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word;  for  history 
bears  witness  to  the  fact  that  morals  are  not  self -propagating, 


58  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

and  that  behind  every  system  of  efficient  morality  there  must 
be  the  sujjport  in  some  form  of  religion. 

The  Mixister's  Family 

In  a  marked  degree  the  nation  is  in  debt  to  the  minister's 
family.  Take  one  conspicuous  instance:  At  the  American 
Institute  of  Instruction,  held  in  Halifax,  N.  S.,  in  1900,  there 
was  given  a  series  of  sketches  of  some  fifteen  hundred  descend- 
ants of  Jonathan  Edwards,  who  was  born  in  1703.  Out  of  the 
fifteen  hundred  descendants  there  were  only  six  criminals. 
There  was  not  a  single  pauper,  imbecile  or  insane  person; 
but  in  railroading,  mining,  medicine,  law,  literature,  states- 
manship and  theology,  the  descendants  of  Jonathan  Edwards 
have  been  prominent  in  the  country  at  large.  Two  hundred 
and  eighty-three  of  the  fifteen  hundred  w^re  college  graduates, 
and  thirteen  were  college  presidents.  Our  limits  forbid  any 
attempt  at  a  comprehensive  statement,  but  we  will  give  a 
few  names  of  preachers'  sons  whom  we  delight  to  honor,  and 
whose  memory  is  like  incense:  Henry  Clay,  the  great  com- 
promiser; Fitz-Greene  Halleck;  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes; 
James  Russell  Lowell;  Frederick  Lawrence  Knowles;  Rich- 
ard Watson  Gilder;  the  last  two  coming  from  Methodist  par- 
sonages, as  did  also  the  late  Senator  Dolliver  and  United 
States  Senator  Bristow.  The  Field  family,  including  Henry 
M.,  the  editor,  David  Dudley  and  Stephen  J.,  lawyers,  and 
Cyrus,  of  Atlantic  cable  fame,  lend  distinction  to  the  family 
of  every  preacher  in  the  LTnited  States.  To  these  we  may  add 
the  names  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  his  gifted  sister, 
Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  Louis  Agassiz  the  scientist,  Samuel 
F.  B.  Morse  the  inventor,  and  the  Wright  brothers,  the  per- 
fecters  of  the  heavier-than-air  flying  machine.  The  honored 
President  of  this  great  Republic,  Woodrow  Wilson,  is  a 
preacher's  son,  as  were  also  Presidents  Arthur  and  Cleveland. 

In  the  world  of  education  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
college  or  university  that  was  not  in  some  large  measure 
indebted  to  a  minister.  He  is  and  always  has  been  preemi- 
nently the  friend  of  education.  It  is  a  source  of  astonishment 
to  many  people  to  leam  how  large  a  percentage  of  the  stu- 
dents in  the  colleges  at  the  present  day  are  sons  of  ministers. 
In  ^lethod ism's  oldest  college  there  are  sixty.  Rev.  John 
Howard   founded   Harvard  University;   Dr.   Leonard   Wood 


DEBT  OF  THE  NATION  59 

founded  Andover  Theological  KSemiiiary;  Dr.  Dempster, 
Dr.  Barrows  and  Bishop  Baker  founded  Garrett  Biblical  Insti- 
tute; Rev.  Thomas  Kirkland  founded  Hamilton  College; 
Iicv.  John  Livingstone  founded  liutgers  College;  while 
Goucher  College,  Baltimore,  betokens  tiie  foresight  and  genius 
of  llcY.  John  (louclier.  Dartmouth  College  was  born  in  the 
heart  of  the  Rev  Eleazar  AVheelock,  pioneer  of  the  Christian 
education  for  the  Indians  of  Nev/'  England.  We  add  the 
names  of  some  great  college  presidents,  who  have  enhanced 
the  glories  of  the  institutions  over  which  they  have  presided, 
and  we  have  such  men  as  Jonathan  Edwards,  Drs.  Wither- 
spoon  and  McCosh.  No  wonder  that  Princeton  glories  in 
the  fact  of  their  presidency  of  that  great  school.  Williams 
had  Mark  Hopkins,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  James  A.  Garfield 
on  one  end  of  a  log  and  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins  on  the  other  con- 
stituted a  university.  At  this  point  again  the  ministry  gets 
near  to  the  presidency,  for  Mark  Hopkins  did  more  to  shape 
Garfield^s  life  than  any  other  person,  excepting  his  devoted 
and  heroic  mother.  To  these  add  Eliphalet  Nott,  sixty-two 
years  a  college  president,  Francis  Wayland,  John  Price  Dur- 
bin,  Wilbur  Fisk,  Stephen  Olin,  Nathan  Bangs,  Cyrus  D. 
Foss,  E.  0.  Haven,  AVilliam  F.  McDowell,  Matthew  Simpson, 
Thomas  Bowman,  John  P.  D.  John,  Dr.  Gobin,  Edwin  H. 
Hughes,  J.  R.  Day,  Herbert  Welch  and  others ;  some  of  whom 
went  from  the  college  presidency  to  the  episcopacy. 

In  the  realm  of  literature  there  are  so  many  names  of  min- 
isters that  I  can  scarcely  give  you  a  list  of  them  without  mak- 
ing it  the  merest  catalogue.  Here  are  such  names  as  Abel 
Stevens,  Daniel  Curry,  Gilbert  Haven,  D.  D.  Whedon  and 
that  versatile  and  discriminating  editor  of  the  MetJiodist 
Revietv,  William  V.  Kelley.  To  these  add  that  robust  thinker 
and  indefatigable  debater  and  controversialist.  Dr.  James  M. 
Buckley;  and  the  splendid  and  efficient  journalist  who  has 
made  New  England  wiser  and  better  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, Dr.  Charles  Parkhurst,  of  Zions  Herald,  and  his  asso- 
ciate. Dr.  E.  C.  E.  Dorion.  Others  who  are  aspiring  to  fame 
in  the  realms  of  Methodist  literature  will  not  be  envious  at 
the  mention  of  these  names.  I  wanted  to  say  these  things 
while  these  men  are  living;  for  thank  God,  all  of  the  worthies 
of  the  editorial  sanctum  are  not  dead  ! 

Lyman  Abbott,  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Washington  Gladden, 


GO  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

A.    T.    Pierson,    Henry   van    Dyke,    Newell    Dwight   Hillis, 
Edward  Everett  Hale  and  many  others  nii^lit  l)e  mentioned. 

Tjte  Minister  a  Patriot 

In  conclusion  let  me  say  that  the  minister  is  ever  a  patriot. 
In  the  days  when  the  fate  of  the  Union  treml)led  in  the  bal- 
ance there  were  two  men  who  were  conspicuous  in  their  serv- 
ices to  the  country :  Matthew  Simpson,  Methodist,  and  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  Congregationalist.  AVhile  Bishop  Simpson 
flamed  up  and  down  the  land,  kindling  the  fires  of  patriot- 
ism in  thousands  of  x^merican  hearts,  and  sustaining  in  prayer 
and  fellowship  the  Great  Heart  at  the  White  House,  Beecher 
went  to  England  to  state  the  case  to  the  British.  It  was  no 
small  task.  It  demanded  a  high  type  of  courage  and  skill  to 
face  the  hosts  of  Englishmen  wdiose  families  were  hungry  be- 
cause of  the  embargo  on  cotton.  But  Beecher  won  the  day.  On 
the  night  of  his  first  great  victory  the  audience  was  filled  with 
the  mob  spirit,  but  Beecher  conquered,  and  tradition  says 
that  on  the  next  day  there  was  taken  from  the  hall  a  dray- 
load  of  brickbats  wdiich  had  been  intended  for  the  American 
preacher.  And  what  shall  I  say  for  the  thousands  whose 
names  are  not  mentioned,  men  for  whom  the  wilderness  and 
the  solitary  place  have  been  glad  and  under  whose  cultivation 
the  desert  has  rejoiced  and  blossomed  as  the  rose  ?  The  Nation 
is  their  debtor,  a  tardy  debtor,  it  is  true,  but  we  believe  that 
the  better  day  is  coming  for  those  who  have  borne  the  burden . 
and  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  that  the  time  is  hastening  when 
this  great  Church,  which  came  into  being  at  the  time  the 
Nation  was  born,  and  which  received  its  constitutional  form 
at  the  time  the  American  Constitution  was  being  formulated, 
will  properly  care  for  the  widow  and  the  orphan,  and  will 
make  life's  eventide  bright  for  the  Veteran  of  the  cross. 
Bishop  Cranston  had  a  prophet's  vision  when  he  said : 

"The  world  will  never  pay  its  debt  to  these  men.  But  ilie 
Church  will  not  refnidiate  their  Claim/' 

Then  there  will  be  no  more  the  specter  of  want  to  alarm 
them,  nor  the  feeling  of  sadness  that  the  Church  has  for- 
gotten its  obligations,  but  a  glad  sense  of  security  in  the 
providence  of  God  and  the  honesty  of  his  people. 

Isaac  H.  Lidstone. 

Danforth,  Me. 


THE  CHURCH'S  DEBT 

TO  THE 

PASTOR'S  FAMILY 

THE  REV.  GEORGE  M.  STONE,  D.D. 

Late  of  Hartford,  Conn. 


The  justice  of  the  claim  of  aged  and  disabled  ministers 
upon  the  Church,  for  sympathy  and  aid  in  their  time  of  need, 
involves  a  plea  in  behalf  of  other  members  of  the  minister's 
family.  The  wives,  and  sometimes  no  less  the  children  of 
Christian  pastors,  have  always  been,  in  the  Protestant  econ- 
omy of  the  pastoral  office,  no  inconsiderable  element  in  their 
success.  The  tactful  service  of  the  pastor's  Avife  has  fre- 
quently perpetuated  his  term  of  office  on  a  difficult  field.  Her 
consecration  has  as  frequently  shielded  him  from  adverse 
criticism  where,  perliaps,  it  may  have  been  deserved.  x\ll  the 
more  does  her  relation  to  the  minister's  home  deserve  recogni- 
tion, because  it  has  been  in  her  life  work  so  many  times  un- 
recognized. Pier  hints  and  suggestions  regarding  literary 
faults  of  the  preacher,  her  vigilance  over  his  personal  appear- 
ance, her  subtle  and  womanly  insight  into  social  forces,  never 
aj^pear  in  the  memorial  notices  of  the  pastor's  work. 

The  Protestant  idea  of  family  life  gets  expression  in  the 
pastoral  office.  No  contrast  in  church-life  is  more  significant 
than  the  home  of  the  Protestant  pastor  and  the  domicile  of 
the  priest  of  the  Roman  Churcli.  This  contrast  is  an  ever- 
present  object  lesson  to  emphasize  the  sanctity  of  marriage, 
and  its  equal  spiritual  purity  with  the  state  of  celibacy. 

The  early  charter  of  Christian  liberty  included  the  life  of 
the  family,  as  is  clear  from  the  questions  of  Paul,  "Have  we 
no  right  to  eat  and  to  drink  ?  Have  we  no  right  to  lead  about 
a  wife  that  is  a  believer,  even  as  the  rest  of  the  apostles  ?" 

The  Fathers  of  the  Nicene  Council  repelled  with  indig- 
nation the  proposition  to  enforce  celibacy  upon  Christian 
pastors.  When  in  the  eleventh  century,  after  many  previous 
struggles  in  the  Church,  the  iron  heel  of  Hildebrand  stamped 
out  the  family  and  the  home  from  the  life  of  the  minister,  he 

61 


62  THE  EETIKED  MTXISTEE 

admitted  to  those  altars  one  of  the  most  serious  menaces  to 
tlie  purity  and  the  power  of  the  Church  itself.  The  Greek 
Church  has  carried  over  from  the  primitive  mold  of  church- 
life  the  right  of  marriage  for  its  pastors. 

The  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century,  logically  and 
naturally,  restored  marriage  to  the  minister.  When  in  1525 
Martin  Lutlier  led  Catherine  Von  Bora  to  the  altar  as  his 
wife,  and  with  her  founded  a  happy  Christian  home,  he  inaug- 
urated a  new  and  noble  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  home- 
life  of  the  world.  How  widely  has  the  family  life  of  Christian 
pastors  since  molded  the  domestic  conditions  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth !  How  many  pictures  of  homes  in  Germany, 
England,  Scotland  and  America  are  recalled  by  the  mere  men- 
tion of  the  manse,  the  rectory  and  the  parsonage ! 

The  minister's  home  owes  much  to  the  widows  of  pastors, 
because  they  have  contributed  in  so  large  measure  to  purify 
the  family  circle  in  places  where  they  have  been  known.  It 
is  time  that  we  should  repudiate  the  cynical  estimate  of  the 
waywardness  of  ministers'  sons.  The  fact  is  to-day  that  the 
sons  of  Christian  pastors  constitute  a  large  part  of  the  moral 
strength  and  fiber  of  the  best  communities  East  and  West. 
It  has  been  said  that  every  President  of  the  United  States 
had  a  praying  mother.  Some  one  has  said,  "When  we  educate 
a  man,  we  educate  an  individual;  but  when  we  educate  a 
mother,  we  educate  a  family."  In  many  communities  the 
pastor's  family  is  the  model  for  others.  A  subtle  but  per- 
vasive influence  goes  out  from  it,  elevating  other  lives  and 
giving  them  permanent  direction. 

There  is  an  uncomputed  service  rendered  by  pastors'  wives 
in  the  training  of  men  for  the  Christian  ministry.  Every- 
where about  us  are  pastors'  sons  in  the  ministry.  Of  Dr. 
Storrs  it  was  said  that  "he  was  ancestrally  preordained  to 
the  Congregational  Ministry."  His  father,  grandfather  and 
great-grandfather  were  in  this  hereditary  line.  The  history 
of  the  women  who  wrought  side  by  side  with  tliese  illustrious 
men  has  not  ])een  written;  but  who  shall  deny  to  them 
a  definite  and  perhaps  preponderating  share  in  the  turn- 
ing of  their  sons  toward  the  calling  of  their  fathers?  The 
fame  of  Jonathan  Edwards  filled  two  continents,  but  the 
quiet,  household  sway  of  Sarah  Pierrepont  Edwards  was 
scarcely  less  a  blessing  to  the  world. 


THE  PASTOR'S  FAMILY  63 

One  President  of  the  United  States  was  the  son  of  a  Baptist 
minister.  Tlie  l)est  positions  in  civil  and  social  life  arc  Hlled 
to-day  })y  tlie  sons  and  daught(M-s  ol'  Christian  ]iastors.  The 
widows  of  our  })astors  deserve  honoi*  and  reward,  because  of 
their  i)ractical  ability  and  skill  in  the  economic  administra- 
tion of  the  household.  We  hear  now-a-days  much  of  great 
financiers.  The  frugality  and  good  management  of  some  of 
the  women  in  the  humble  parsonages  of  the  land  would  rival 
that  of  the  most  noted  men  of  affairs  in  the  centers  of  trade. 
Large  families  have  been  raised  and  educated  upon  six  hun- 
dred dollars  salary  per  year.  They  tell  in  Kew  England  of 
the  housewives  of  a  hundred  years  ago  who  made  one  paper 
of  pins  last  a  lifetime.  There  are  pastors'  wives  still  living 
who  would,  I  think,  be  quite  equal  to  this  degree  of  economy. 

In  considering  our  debt  to  the  widows  of  pastors,  due 
emphasis  .should  be  placed  upon  the  uncertain  lot  of  such 
women  in  case  of  the  untimely  death  of  the  husband.  The 
change  made  in  such  cases  is  frequently  greater  than  in  the 
more  common  vocations  of  life.  Not  long  since  I  was  in  a 
sad  home,  where  the  pastor,  a  popular  man,  had  been  stricken 
down  suddenly  in  comparatively  early  life.  The  widow,  with 
her  little  family,  was  soon  to  go  out  of  their  home.  Of  course, 
the  library  must  be  sold.  The  death  of  the  pastor  involved 
not  only  a  change  in  the  social  position  of  the  wife,  but  also 
brought  about  new  and  painful  conditions  in  every  aspect 
and  hope  of  her  life.  Even  though  the  pastor's  wife  may 
have  left  a  home  of  independence  to  become  her  husband's 
helpmeet,  such  are  the  vicissitudes  of  life  that  she  may  not 
return  to  it  in  her  day  of  bereavement.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  imagine  a  situation  more  trying  and  precarious  than  that 
of  a  pastor's  widow  under  said  circumstances. 

The  Church  should  exercise  a  constant  solicitude  over  them 
as  co-workers  with  her  ministers  and  missionaries.  "The 
graves  of  all  the  saints  are  blest,'^  but  while  no  conspicuous 
shafts  of  mar])le  mark  the  resting-places  of  the  band  of  con- 
secrated women,  the  earth  has  no  more  sacred  dust  than 
theirs.  The  grave  of  Sarah  Boardman  Judson,  at  St.  Helena, 
joins  together  the  continents  which  hold  the  dust  of  Ann 
Hasseltine  on  one  side,  and  Emily  Chubbuck  on  the  other. 
The  entire  Church  of  God  has  paid  its  tribute  to  these  hand- 
maids of  the  cross.     Our  plea  to-day  is  in  behalf  of  that 


G4  TTTE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

numerous  company  whose  services  in  an  humbler  sphere 
have  been  under  "the  Great  Taskmaster's  Eye/'  and  have  met 
His  divine  approval.  In  pleading  for  these,  we  plead  for  the 
silent.  They  suffer,  and  make  no  sign.  It  is  said  in  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  Psalms,  the  sixty-eighth :  "She  that  tarried 
at  home,  divided  the  spoil.'' 

The  well-earned  reward  of  Christian  women  is  recognized 
by  the  jMaster  Himself  that  it  may  be  by  us  also.  The  em- 
phatic recognition  of  the  service  of  Mary  in  the  breaking  of 
the  alabaster  vase  upon  the  person  of  Christ  is  perhaps  our 
clearest  and  highest  warrant  for  conscientious  solicitude  over 
the  temporal  needs  of  the  widows  of  our  pastors.  When 
gifted  women  have  entered  Christian  service,  partial  friends 
have  said,  "To  what  purpose  is  this  waste?"  When  Fanny 
Forrester  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Judson  in  the  flowering 
time  of  her  literary  genius,  the  worldly  public  were  thrown 
into  something  like  a  panic  over  what  they  thought  "an  un- 
paralleled and  senseless  sacrifice."  It  was  the  common  talk 
that  the  brilliant  authoress  was  throwing  herself  away.  Al- 
ready, however,  her  blaster  had  said  of  one  of  her  prede- 
cessors, "Wheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the 
whole  world,  there  shall  also  this,  that  this  woman  hath  done, 
be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her." 

Many  years  ago,  I  stood  on  the  deck  of  an  outward-bound 
steamer  in  the  harbor  of  New  York.  Among  the  groups  on 
the  deck,  saying  farewells,  were  a  young  bride  and  her  hus- 
band, starting  out  as  missionaries  to  South  Africa.  The 
bride  had  been  reared  in  one  of  the  most  affluent  homes  of 
the  great  city.  The  step  she  was  taking  in  leaving  it  for 
service  and  suffering  in  the  dark  continent  was  inexplicable 
to  some  of  her  friends.  Her  clear-sighted  faith  left  her  with- 
out doubt  of  her  course,  and  enabled  her  to  act  upon  the 
higher  motive  and  finally  to  give  up  life  for  it. 

The  Protestant  idea  of  the  faithful  pastor's  family  life  has 
created  a  sphere  for  the  exercise  of  a  wide  variety  of  woman's 
gifts.  Martha  served  the  Master  as  truly  as  Mary,  though 
after  a  different  manner.  Each  held  by  her  special  gift,  and 
met  a  felt  want  of  the  Lord  during  His  earthly  life.  And 
still  the  varied  needs  of  His  people  require  services  widely 
different.  The  chef  of  the  Parker  House,  Boston,  and  the 
president  of  Harvard  College  received  the  same  salary.    But 


THE  PASTOR'S  FAMILY  65 

confusion  twice  confounded  would  ensue  if  they  changed 
places  for  a  single  day.  Martha  had  no  sentiment.  But  senti- 
ment has  its  legitimate  place  in  the  Church,  and  Mary  brings 
it  to  her  altars.  "She  bows,  she  bathes  the  Saviour's  feet  with 
costly  spikenard,  and  with  tears.^^  Of  her  practical  sister,  it  is 
written,  "They  made  him  a  feast  at  Bethany,  and  Martha 
served.'^  For  He  was  hungry  betimes,  and  knew  the  differ- 
ence between  a  savory  meal  and  one  prepared  Avithout  the 
skill  of  woman's  native  art.  There  are  different  gifts,  but 
the  same  spirit,  and  both  man  and  woman  serve  best  who  hold 
fast  to  their  own  gifts  with  true  self-reverence  and  steadfast 
faith  that  God  has  woven  into  them  the  qualities  which 
pleased  Him. 

Finally,  there  is  a  cloud  of  witnesses  on  earth  and  in 
heaven,  who  could  speak  of  the  unpaid  debt  owed  to  pastors' 
wives;  the  pastors  themselves.  Principal  Fairbairn,  in  the 
dedication  to  his  noble  book,  "The  Place  of  Christ  in  Modern 
History,"  says:  "This  book  is  dedicated  to  my  wife,  whose 
quiet  helpfulness  and  fair  companionship  have  made  the 
twenty-five  years  of  our  wedded  life  years  of  happy  labor 
and  gracious  peace."  The  classic  verse  of  Old  Testament  love 
is:  "And  Jacob  served  seven  years  for  Rachel;  and  they 
seemed  unto  him  but  a  few  days,  for  the  love  he  had  to  her." 
This  is  love  before  marriage,  but  the  sober  word  of  the  wise 
man  in  past  marriage  life  is :  "Her  price  is  far  above  rubies. 
The  heart  of  her  husband  doth  safely  trust  in  her,  so  that  he 
shall  have  no  need  of  spoil.  She  will  do  him  good  and  not 
evil  all  the  days  of  her  life.  She  openeth  her  mouth  witli 
wisdom:  and  in  her  tongue  is  the  law  of  kindness.  She 
looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household,  and  eateth  not  the 
))read  of  idleness.  Her  children  arise  up,  and  call  her  blessed  ; 
her  husband  also,  and  he  praiseth  her." 

High  encomiums  should  fall  upon  living  ears.  There  is  too 
much  post  mortem  appreciation  of  the  value  of  pastors'  wives. 
Let  us  see  to  it  that  we  fail  not  in  honor  and  care  for  the  liv- 
ing. I  had  rather  have  a  single  violet  on  my  study-table  to- 
day than  a  whole  bank  of  flowers  on  my  casket  after  death. 
On  His  cross  our  blessed  Lord  provided  a  home  for  His  mother 
in  the  sheltering  love  of  His  dearest  disciple.  What  shall  l)e 
our  response  to  the  known  need  of  our  own  homeless  sisters 
of  the  same  Lord  ? 


(iG 


THE  RETIT?ED  MINISTER 


ARMY    CHAPLAmS    NOW    RETIRED    PREACHERS 

1.  The    Rev.    C.    H.    McDermond,    Missouri    Conference, 
Chaplain  of  the  194th  Pennsylvania  U.  S.  V. 

2.  The  Rev.  William  H.  Thomas,  New  England  Confer- 
ence, Chaplain  of  the  4:th  New  Hampshire  U.  S.  Y. 

3.  The    Rev.    Ezra    R.    Lathrop,    Minnesota    Conference, 
Chaplain  of  the  10th  Minnesota  U.  S.  Y. 

4.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Henry  James,  New  England  Southern 
Conference,  Chaplain  of  the  3d  New  Jersey  U.  S.  Y. 

5.  The  Rev.  Isaac  E.  Springer,  D.D.,  Detroit  Conference, 
Chaplain  of  the  3d  Wisconsin  U.  S.  Y. 


WHY  A  SERVICE 
PENSION? 

THE  REV.  C.  W.  MILLER,  AM. 

Pittsburgh  Conference 


AA^hy  should  the  Church  contrihute  to  the  support  of  the 
Eetired  Minister?  Is  there  any  obligation  beyond  that  of 
supi^ort  for  those  who  are  in  active  service?  What  is  meant 
b}^  the  expression  ''supporting  the  ministry"?  If  it  means 
that  the  service  rendered,  the  responsibility  borne,  cannot 
be  measured  by  financial  standards,  that  remuner-ation  is 
impossible,  that  all  we  can  do  is  to  sustain  the  soldiers  of  the 
cross  so  that  they  do  not  go  a  warfare  at  their  own  charges, 
then  the  word  is  well  chosen,  No  wage  can  pay  the  soldier 
for  the  risk  taken  and  the  service  rendered  in  defense  of  the 
nation's  life  and  honor,  for  supreme  devotion  in  the  hour  of 
the  nation's  supreme  need.  So  also  the  high  service  of  hu- 
manity, which  true  gospel  ministry  involves,  can  have  no 
financial  equivalent. 

But  if  it  means  that  the  ministry  is  a  non-producin,;^  class, 
a  burden  and  tax  upon  society,  without  the  rendering  of 
equivalent  service,  then  the  use  of  the  word  is  ill-considered 
and  misleading.  In  this  objectionable  sense  we  might  as 
well  speak  of  supporting  the  officers  of  the  government, 
physicians,  lawyers,  teachers,  merchants,  mechanics,  farmers 
and  laborers,  for  when  we  pay  the  doctor's  bill,  the  lawyer's 
fee,  the  teacher's  salary,  the  mechanic's  wage,  we  are  sup- 
porting them  as  truly  as  we  are  supporting  the  minister 
when  we  pay  his  stipend;  and  when  we  expend  one  hundred 
dollars  for  groceries,  dry  goods,  clothing  or  shoes  we  con- 
tribute ten  or  more  dollars  to  the  support  of  the  seller. 

Judged  hy  mere  financial  standards  the  Church  pays.  It 
is  cheaper  and  more  efficient  for  good  order  and  popular 
well-being  than  the  city  government;  and  the  average  min- 
ister contributes  as  much  to  the  support  of  others  as  they  do 
to  his,     Xo  doubt  the  majority  of  ministers  could  say,  with 

67 


68  THE  KETIKHl)  MINISTER 

Dr.  Adams  of  the  Brick  Church,  New  York,  "I  have  paid 
more  for  the  privilege  of  preaching  the  gospel  than  any  of 
my  parishioners  has  paid  for  the  privilege  of  hearing  it"; 
and  we  may  safely  say  that  the  Church  at  large  has  had  her 
ministerial  service  at  less  than  cost.     But  to  our  question, 

*^Why  Should  the  Church  Contribute  to  the  Support 
OF  the  Eetired  Minister?" 

First,  T]te  term  of  financially  productive  activity  is  short. 
Taking  into  account  the  preparation  demanded,  few  men  can 
enter  the  ministry  under  twenty-five  years  of  age — some  are 
thirty  years  or  beyond.  By  this  time  men  in  other  pur- 
suits have  given  five  or  ten  years  to  their  chosen  line  of  work. 

But  not  only  does  the  active  career  begin  later,  it  closes 
earlier.  When  the  hair  begins  to  turn,  the  minister  is  sus- 
pected of  growing  old,  though  his  physical  force  may  not 
be  noticeably  abated,  and  though  his  mental  grasp  may  be 
broader  and  his  spiritual  insight  be  deeper  than  ever  before. 
He  is  no  longer  in  demand  just  when  other  professional  men 
are  reaping  the  rewards  of  mature  powers  and  wide  experi- 
ence, and  just  when  he  is  better  equipped  than  ever  before 
to  be  the  spiritual  guide  of  a  congregation. 

Second,  The  pecuniary  rewards  are  small.  The  time  re- 
quired for  a  liberal  education  is  from  five  to  seven  years  and 
the  cost  may  be  estimated  at  three  thousand  dollars — by  no 
means  an  extravagant  figure.  Add  to  this  the  financial  return 
for  these  years  if  they  had  been  devoted  to  a  handicraft  or 
business,  and  the  capital  invested  is  considerable.  Clerks 
and  apprentices  receive  wages  while  learning  their  handi- 
craft or  business,  but  an  education  involves  outlay  from  start 
to  finish.  The  comparison  is  with  the  skilled  artisan,  the 
business  man,  the  man  in  other  lines  of  professional  or  semi- 
professional  work,  for  we  need  the  skilled  workman  in  the 
pulpit  and  the  parish  as  much  as  in  any  other  field  of  human 
effort.  And  the  Church  is  looking  for  her  brightest  and  best 
equipped  young  men  for  the  service  of  the  sanctuary,  realiz- 
ing that  a  ministry  which  would  command  respect  must  be 
competent  to  lead  and  instruct  the  people,  and  that  no  other 
profession  or  calling  makes  such  demands  on  mind  and  heart. 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  young  men  of  ability,  and  natural 
ambitions,  knowing  in  advance  that  they  will  be  shut  up 


WHY  A  SERAaCE  PENSION  69 

to  an  uncertain  "comfortable  support'^  and  may  be  fore- 
doomed to  scant  fare,  should  hesitate  to  enter  the  ministry 
unless  compelled  by  an  overmastering  sense  of  duty  or  love 
for  the  work !  Yet  instances  are  not  at  all  rare  of  men  who 
have  turned  away  from  flattering  prospects  and  profitable 
engagements  to  enter  the  ministry,  and  who  could  vastly 
improve  their  worldly  circumstances  by  returning  thereto. 

But  the  Church,  while  regarding  the  "call  to  the  ministry'' 
as  imperative,  has  often  forgotten  that  "the  Lord  hath  or- 
dained that  they  who  preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the 
gospel."  And  might  we  not  take  less  counsel  of  our  fears 
of  a  secularized  ministry  and  think  more  on  the  sins  of 
omission  of  an  unduly  and  unwisely  economical  Church?  As 
a  rule,  no  man  who  could  not  have  commanded  more  in  an- 
other calling  is  fit  for  the  ministry;  and  no  man  is  fit  for 
it  who  does  not  feel  that  the  holy  service  is  above  financial 
considerations,  and  who  does  not  enter  upon  it,  "not  for 
filthy  lucre,  but  for  the  gospel's  sake,"  out  of  love  for  the 
service  itself.  No  man  can  acquire  wealth  from  his  ministry 
— I  do  not  think  that  he  should — I  want  one  human  activity 
to  have  upon  it  the  stamp  of  a  divine  calling  rather  than 
the  mint-mark  of  the  secular  government.  Wealthy  minis- 
ters are  rare,  and  their  wealth  has  come  from  other  sources 
than  their  ministry.  The  vast  majority  fail  of  a  competency 
for  their  simple  needs  when  retired  from  active  work.  Even 
those  salaries  which  the  Church  calls  large  are  but  a  fraction 
of  the  incomes  of  the  leaders  in  commerce,  finance  and  in- 
dustries. Beecher  was  as  great  in  his  line  as  Morgan  and 
Carnegie  in  theirs.  Bishop  Merrill  would  have  been  a  great 
lawyer.  Yet  what  is  the  salary  of  a  bishop  compared  with 
the  salaries  of  out-standing  men  in  the  professions ! 

Third,  Tlie  financial  demands  on  him  are  greater  than  on 
any  other  man  of  equal  income. 

The  larger  expense  attendant  on  his  preparation  accom- 
panies him  to  the  end  of  his  active  career.  He  is  expected 
to  be  abreast  of  the  thought  of  the  day,  to  be  equal  to  the 
best  informed  in  the  pews.  The  lay-worker  is  useful  but 
the  preacher  is  indispensable,  and  the  minister  who  would 
command  respect  must  be  the  teacher  of  his  people,  "able 
by  sound  doctrine  both  to  exhort  and  to  convince  the  gain- 
sayers."     ''Beaten  oil  for  the  sanctuary"  involves  expense  of 


70  THE  RETIEED  MINISTEB 

both  la])or  and  money.  He  must  feed  his  mind  if  he  would 
have  it  healthy  and  vigorous;  he  must  reap  in  many  fields 
of  knowledge;  he  must  read  the  kind  of  reading  that  costs. 
His  congregation  demands  that  he  shall  maintain  what  they 
consider  a  respectable  style  of  living  and  dress  for  himself 
and  family.  In  the  struggle  to  do  this  on  inadequate  means, 
and  to  do  for  children  what  educated  parents  feel  it  worth 
many  privations  to  do,  many  a  faithful  wife's  health  has 
broken  and  she  has  gone,  too  soon,  to  her  coronation.  He 
is  expected  to  lead,  and  as  a  rule  does  lead,  in  the  benevo- 
lences of  the  Church  and  must  be  in  the  front  rank  of  every 
public  and  private  charity.  Every  one,  from  the  agents  of 
great  religious  or  educational  enterprises  down  to  the  ill- 
favored  and  malodorous  tramp  at  the  back  door,  selects  him 
as  the  first  victim.  The  entertaining  of  the  congregation,  so 
far  as  it  has  religious,  charitable  or  reformatory  aspect,  falls 
to  his  lot.  He  must  keep  ^'open  house"  as  well  as  open  heart 
to  every  good  cause;  and  apparently  no  one  ever  thinks  of 
the  cost! 

With  the  demand  for  charity,  with  the  standard  of  living 
fixed  for  him  by  the  people,  with  books  and  other  literature 
for  himself  and  for  his  family  and  with  the  education  of 
children,  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  situation  and  save  any- 
thing from  the  ordinary  salary  is  a  fine  problem  in  finance. 

The  Methodist  Ministry 

These  things  are  true  of  the  ministry  in  general,  and  up 

to  this  point  all  ministers  share  in  experiences  incident  to 

their  calling.     But  there  are  some  features  of  the  position 

of  a  Methodist  preacher  of  which  I  wish  to  speak  particularly. 

First,  The  Methodist  Preacher  is  an  ecclesiastical  soldier, 
'pledged  to  ''come"  and  ''go,"  "do  this"  and  "do  that"  at  the 
bidding  of  another. 

No  other  minister  is  in  this  position  except  the  Eoman 
Catholic  priest.  But  unlike  the  soldier  who  is  educated, 
paid  and  pensioned  by  his  government,  and  unlike  the  priest 
who  is  educated  and  provided  for  by  his  Church,  the  Meth- 
odist minister  must  provide  his  own  education  and  equip- 
ment and  has  no  definite  assurance  of  support.  He  has  no 
vote  or  voice  as  to  his  field  of  labor  or  the  adjustment  of  his 
salary,  and  no  recourse  at  law  if  the  salary  is  not  paid.     In 


WHY  A  SERVICE  PENSION  71 

other  communions  the  local  church  issues  a  call  which  the 
minister  may  entertain  or  not,  as  he  pleases.  If  he  enter- 
tains it,  he  is  a  party  to  the  conditions  under  which  his 
service  shall  be  rendered,  and  if  these  do  not  suit  him  he 
may  decline  to  serve;  if  the  call  is  accepted,  the  church 
is  bound  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  obligations  assumed  in  the 
arrangements  made.  But  the  Methodist  minister  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  powers  that  be,  the  Bishops,  who,  with  the 
advice  of  the  District  Superintendents,  appoint  him  to  ^'do 
that  part  of  the  work  which  we  advise,  at  those  times  and 
places  which  w^e  judge  most  for  His  glory."  These  powers 
often  ^%ird  him  and  carry  him  whither  he  would  not."  Ar- 
riving at  his  destination  he  is  in  the  hands  of  the  arbiters 
of  his  fate  for  the  ensuing  years  who  "do  unto  him  what- 
soever they  list."  Apparently  the  local  church  is  the  only 
party  in  interest,  and  decides  his  "allowance."  He  has  neither 
vote  nor  veto  as  to  the  conclusion  reached,  nor  appeal  from  it, 
nor  recourse  if  his  "allowance"  is  defaulted.  He  is  an  itin- 
erant whose  principal  duty  is  to  itinerate  whenever  a  dis- 
satisfied parishioner  suggests  it — a  kind  of  Wandering  Jew, 
whom  any  one  at  any  time  may  command  to  move  on.  Pains 
and  penalties  are  for  him  if  he  refuses  or  abandons  the  work 
assigned  him,  but  there  are  no  pains  and  penalties  for  the 
church  which  refuses  to  receive  or  to  support  him,  unless 
it  be  the  rej)ort  of  a  "deficiency"  and  a  change  of  preachers. 
The  usage  of  a  century  has  dulled  our  appreciation  of  the 
magnitude  of  this  self-surrender;  but  if  any  man  thinks  it 
a  small  affair  to  put  the  direction  of  his  life  and  the  comfort 
and  the  well-being  of  his  family  at  the  disposal  of  another, 
let  him  try  it!  He  can  doubtless  find  a  "captain  of  industry" 
willing  to  employ  him  on  these  terms,  to  come  and  go  at 
command,  to  do  such  work  and  receive  such  pay  at  such  time 
and  in  such  measure  as  may  suit  the  employer's  fancy. 

Second,  Other  churches  have  sustentation  and  home  mis- 
sion funds  to  assure  the  worker  a  definite  support  while  he 
is  developing  new  work. 

Methodism  is  evangelistic;  it  is  a  great  missionary  move- 
ment which  is  not  delayed  until  the  development  of  bases  of 
supply.  It  does  not  wait  for  calls  from  organized  churches 
with  stipulated  salaries,  but  goes  out  into  the  highways  and 


72  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

hedges,  into  the  mountains,  the  wilderness  and  the  plains, 
to  call  men  to  salvation  and  to  organize  them  into  churches. 
In  this  way  it  has  won  the  victories  of  the  past  and  is  to-day 
pushing  its  conquests  among  the  scattered  populations  on 
the  frontier,  in  mining  and  lumber  camps  and  among  the 
unchurched  masses  in  our  populous  cities  and  their  suburbs. 
Men  of  all  creeds  admit  that  Methodism  is  the  most  profound 
and  potent  fact  in  twentieth  century  Christianity.  Even 
secular  historians  eulogize  it;  it  is  the  very  romance  of  reli- 
gious history.  From  an  obscure  society  in  the  Established 
Church  of  England  it  has  developed  into  a  religious  "world 
power"  whose  influence  is  upon  every  other  communion, 
whose  agencies  of  conquest  are  in  every  land,  and  which 
must  be  reckoned  in  every  list  of  the  forces  by  which  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  of  His  Christ. 

Who  made  it?  The  itinerant  preachers  who,  in  apostolic 
fashion,  went  everywhere  preaching  the  Word;  the  men  who 
are  now  called  "worn-out,"  "superannuated,"  "retired," 
"Conference  Claimants" ;  who  could  always  say  of  themselves 
with  Paul,  "As  poor  yet  making  many  rich."  The  Meth- 
odist itinerancy  is  a  matchless  system  of  ministerial  supply, 
but  it  is  expensive;  because  a  moving  army  cannot  be  sub- 
sisted at  the  same  cost  as  a  settled  community  of  the  same 
number  of  men.  It  was  not  devised  to  care  for  weak  min- 
isters but  to  help  weak  churches  and  create  new  churches; 
and  the  heaviest  burden  and  expense  has  fallen  on  the  work- 
ers themselves.  It  is  to  ])e  hoped  that  our  great-hearted 
laymen  will  remember  this,  and  when  they  glorify  our 
itinerancy  and  clamor  for  a  restoration  of  the  time-limit 
will  reflect  that  these  things  seem  much  easier  when  some 
one  else  is  between  the  millstones  and  must  bear  the  expense, 
and  endure  the  hardship  and  the  heart-break.  In  addition 
to  this,  our  pastoral  support  is  conceded  to  be  below  the 
average  of  other  churches.  Some  of  our  ministers  have 
largely  increased  their  financial  receipts  and  their  oppor- 
tunity to  work  out  large  plans  for  effective  church  work,  and 
perhaps  many  more  could  have  done  so,  by  going  into  the 
pulpits  of  other  churches,  while  very  few  come  to  us.  W^e 
appear  to  have  the  most  expensive  system  of  ministerial 
supply  at  the  least  expense  to  the  churches. 


WHY  A  SEEYICE  PENSION  73 

Third,  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  more  fear- 
fully afraid  of  worldliness  in  tier  minister  than  any  other 
Cliurch. 

The  monastic  "vow  of  poverty"  is  presumed  to  be  on  him 
and  what  is  esteemed  a  virtue  in  other  men  is  considered  a 
discredit  in  him.  Numerous  doors  to  personal  profit  are 
open  to  men  in  all  other  professions  or  callings ;  and  in  other 
denominations  the  acquisition  of  property  is  not  regarded 
with  jealousy  as  it  is  among  us.  The  injunction  that  Meth- 
odism lays  upon  her  minister  is,  "Spend  and  be  spent  in  this 
work;  give  thyself  wholly  to  it;  no  man  that  warreth  entan- 
gleth  himself  with  the  things  of  this  life,  that  he  may  please 
Him  who  hath  called  him  to  be  a  soldier."  She  demands 
that  he  shall  be  "a  man  of  one  work";  that  he  shall  not 
dabble  in  business  or  speculation ;  that  he  shall  use  his  busi- 
ness ability  in  building  and  improving  churches  and  par- 
sonages and  paying  old  debts,  and  the  Church  does  not  refuse 
the  preachers  financial  help  in  doing  these  things.  She  is 
even  somewhat  jealous  of  the  increase  of  his  private  means 
by  legitimate  investment  or  natural  growth  of  his  own  or 
his  wife's  patrimony;  apparently  fearing  that  God  may  not 
be  able  to  keep  him  humble  unless  he  is  kept  becomingly  poor. 
The  law  of  the  Church,  the  traditions  of  more  than  a  century, 
personal  and  popular  sentiment  and  much  itinerating  com- 
bine to  discourage  business  ventures  for  his  own  profit,  so 
that  it  is  the  rare  exception  when  he  has  been  able  to  save 
enough  to  buy  a  home  for  himself  and  his  aging  wife;  still 
rarer  when,  in  addition  to  owning  his  house,  he  is  al)le  to 
meet  their  simple  needs  when  retired  from  service;  and 
should  he  have  managed  to  save  something,  it  is  always 
tremendously  overrated  in  the  public  mind. 

AVe  need  to  divert  our  thought  from  the  exceptional 
salaries,  including  those  of  the  Bishops,  who  are  worth  all 
they  receive,  and  direct  it  to  the  "average,"  all  the  time 
rememl)ering  that  most  salaries  are  below  the  average.  In 
the  leading  Conferences  embracing  the  large  cities,  the  "aver- 
age salary"  is  not  above  the  comfort  line,  and  the  "ordi- 
nary salary"  is  much  below  the  safety  line.  In  every  State, 
even  in  the  great  cities,  earnest  and  faithful  preachers  are 
trying  to  live  on  sums  which  would  be  rejected  by  the  hod- 
carriers. 


74  THE  EETIRED  MIXISTER 

Fourth,  In  the  matter  of  age  the  Methodist  Itinerant  is 
at  a  disadvantage  as  compared  with  the  settled  pastor. 

The  settled  pastor  ages  with  his  congregation,  without  ex- 
citing special  comment;  he  has  aged  in  the  service  of  his 
congregation,  has  baptized  their  children,  married  their 
young  people  and  received  them  into  the  church,  comforted 
their  sick  and  dying  and  buried  their  dead.  He  is  a  personal 
friend  as  well  as  a  spiritual  adviser,  and  none  but  the  coarsest 
would  object  to  him  on  account  of  his  gray  hairs.  But 
the  Methodist  itinerant  stands  revealed  in  all  his  grayness 
on  the  first  Sunday  after  Conference,  and  the  shock  is  some- 
times too  severe  to  be  recovered  from.  He  is  a  stranger  who 
has  worn  himself  out  in  serving  others,  and  the  age  objection 
comes  with  ease  and  bluntness,  ^'We  don't  want  that  old 
man  \"  and  the  judgment  is  seldom  reversed.  I  do  not  insist 
that  he  should  be  kept  beyond  his  year,  though  his  ministry 
might  be  the  best  blessing  kind  Heaven  could  send  them;  I 
only  ask  that  he  shall  be  given  "fair-play,"  and  that  he  shall 
not  be  driven  to  "the  Common."  In  the  settled  pastorate 
one  may  save  something  even  from  a  small  salary;  but  our 
itinerancy  has  begotten  a  desire  for  change  for  the  mere  sake 
of  change,  and  frequent  removals  make  it  impossible  to  ac- 
quire a  competency  even  by  rigid  economy,  the  savings  of 
one  pastorate  being  consumed  in  removing  to  another.  No- 
where else  in  our  own  Church  is  the  age-limit  so  early  or  so 
mercilessly  drawn  as  in  the  pastorate.  Men  may  serve  ac- 
ceptably as  Bishops  or  district  superintendents,  as  editors  or 
secretaries,  long  after  they  have  passed  the  dead-line  of  pas- 
toral acceptability.  A  Bishop  may  become  venerable,  but 
the  pastor  becomes  antiquated.  When  signs  of  age  appear 
the  demand  for  young  and  more  athletic  men  crowds  him 
back  into  smaller  charges  and  poorer  pay  under  the  specious 
pretext  of  "lighter  work,"  in  which  the  only  lighter  thing 
is  the  salary;  for  there  is  no  harder  work  than  that  of  cheer- 
ing a  small  or  discouraged  charge  on  to  a  solid  footing  and 
self-respect.  So  when  the  last  charge  has  been  served,  the 
preacher  is  usually  without  income  or  property,  and  without 
the  relationships  that  give  standing  in  the  community.  He 
is  a  man  without  a  home  and  almost  without  a  country ! 

If  the  Church  demands  this  kind  of  service,  and  keeps  her 
ministers  on  the  narrow  margin  of  "a  comfortable  support" 


WHY  A  SERVICE  PENSION  'i6 

(of  the  sufpcioicy  of  ivliirli  tlie  Church  is  sole  judge),  then 
she  ought  to  continue  the  '^t'onifortal)le  support"  in  the  years 
of  enforced  retirement.  The  soklier  of  the  Church,  who  has 
separated  himself  from  the  affairs  of  this  life  "that  he  may 
please  Him  who  hath  chosen  him  to  be  a  soldier/'  who  has 
turned  away  from  other  employments,  however  lucrative  or 
pleasant,  who  has  surrendered  his  right  to  go  where  he 
pleased,  to  do  what  he  pleased,  and  to  make  the  best  bargain 
he  could ;  who  has  given  his  life  to  the  service  of  the  Church 
in  return  for  whatever  the  Church  saw  fit  to  give  him,  ought 
to  be  well  cared  for  when  his  failing  powers  and  "the  good 
of  the  service"  compel  him  to  stand  aside;  and  until  that 
is  done  the  Church  has  no  right  to  object  to  him  on  account 
of  his  age.  When  such  provision  has  been  made  he  can  be 
retired  at  a  specified  age,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Bishops;  for 
there  are  men  who  ought  to  be  enjoying  a  well-earned  rest, 
who  are  holding  on  to  work  beyond  their  powers,  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  semi-pauperism  and  semi-starvation  of  the  "neces- 
sitous fund."  Men  who  in  the  vigor  of  their  manhood's 
powers  rode  forth  to  conquer  the  world  for  Christ,  and  on 
many  a  hard-fought  field  have  won  the  spurs  of  the  noblest 
knighthood,  in  the  evening  of  life  are  reduced  to  the  pitiful 
pass  of  saying,  "Put  me,  I  pray  thee,  into  one  of  the  priests' 
offices  that  I  may  eat  a  piece  of  bread!" 

The  readjustment  of  ministerial  support,  due  to  changed 
financial  conditions,  has  resulted  in  betterment  for  the  man 
in  active  service.  His  claim  receives  consideration,  his  rights 
are  more  firmly  settled,  and  default  in  payment  of  promised 
support  has  been  recognized  as  a  shame.  But  it  has  been 
disastrous  to  the  Retired  Ministers.  They  were  overlooked 
and  neglected  so  long  by  their  brethren  that  they  are  sup- 
posed to  have  no  right  of  ministerial  support — nothing  but 
the  appeal  of  poverty  to  generosity.  They  have  been  con- 
sidered "necessitous  cases"  and  their  claims  have  been  adminis- 
tered on  the  basis  of  need  in  disregard  of  immemorial  rights 
and  in  defiance  of  ancient  law  and  custom.  They  have  been 
asked  to  come  before  quarterly  conference  and  the  Conference 
stewards  and  establish  their  "necessity"  in  order  that  they 
may  receive  their  "allowance."  How  humiliating  it  is  to 
compel  one  to  sound  the  depths  of  his  poverty,  to  make  dis- 


76  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

play  of  the  leanness  of  his  larder,  the  hareness  of  his  ward- 
robe and  the  emptiness  of  his  purse  that  he  may  be  fed  with 
the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the  table  of  a  rich,  powerful  and 
prosperous  Church,  to  whose  interests  he  has  given  his  best 
years  and  his  best  service.  It  is  not  charged  that  the  people 
generally  regard  his  support  as  a  charity  or  contribute  grudg- 
ingly to  it.  The  ministers  are  worse  offenders  than  the  peo- 
ple; and  as  long  as  his  claim  is  based  on  necessity  rather 
than  on  service,  and  he  must  prove  his  need  in  order  to  make 
good  his  title  to  support,  and  receive  his  dole  from  a  neces- 
sitous fund,  it  is  not  easy  for  him  to  avoid  disquieting  and 
humiliating  thoughts.  This  condition  has  come  about,  not 
because  any  one  purposed  it,  but  through  lack  of  considera- 
tion, "For  evil  is  wrought  by  want  of  thought,  as  well  as 
want  of  heart."  It  is  the  usual  fate  of  him  who  is  not  present 
to  look  after  his  own  interests.  Being  "out  of  sight,"  the 
Veteran  Preacher  has  been  "out  of  mind." 

When  Bishops  Bowman  and  Foster  were  retired  in  1896 
they  were  deeply  moved;  and  a  great  wave  of  sympathetic 
feeling  swept  over  the  Church.  This  was  not  strange,  for 
it  is  no  small  thing  to  lay  down  a  loved  life-work.  But  these 
Bishops  retired,  not  only  with  the  love  of  the  Church  and  with 
her  honors  thick  upon  them,  but  with  the  assurance  of 
worldly  comfort  for  their  remaining  days.  A  similar  scene, 
but  with  more  elements  of  tragedy  in  it,  is  silently  enacted 
every  year  by  less  prominent  characters  on  a  less  conspicuous 
stage,  when  men  no  less  tried  and  true,  no  less  worthy  of  the 
love  of  the  Church,  lay  down  their  life-work  in  the  Annual 
Conferences  to  face  the  future  with  the  certainty  of  scant 
comfort  in  their  declining  years.  Is  it  asking  too  much 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which,  more  than  any 
other  Church  since  the  days  of  the  apostles,  owes  her  success 
to  the  labors  and  sacrifices  of  her  ministry,  that  those  who 
can  no  longer  bear  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day  shall 
be  adequately  provided  for? 

We  are  not  pleading  for  the  endowment  of  a  charity,  but 
for  partial  payment  of  a  debt  on  which  judgment  has  been 
confessed  by  the  Church.  From  1876  to  1900  the  Pittsburgh 
Conference  reported  $140,000  in  deficiencies  of  salary,  or,  with 
interest  on  defaulted  payments  added,  $250,000;  and  this 
Conference    ranks   with    the   best!      And    these    deficiencies 


WHY  A  SERVICE  PENSION  77 

were  charged  up  to  men  who  were  doing  hard  service  on 
small  salaries  and  to  whom  the  loss  of  even  a  small  sum 
required  stern  self-denial  and  suffering,  to  men  whose  incon- 
spicuous and  ill-requited  toil  built  up  and  strengthened  the 
more  prosperous  churches. 

The  Eemedy 

The  remedij.  Almost  a  generation  ago  there  began  to  he 
a  profound  and  widespread  conviction  among  thoughtful 
ministers  and  laymen  that  the  provisions  for  the  support  of 
Retired  Ministers  were  not  only  a  humiliating  experience  for 
the  ministers  themselves,  but  a  dishonor  to  the  Church  which 
they  had  served  so  faithfully  and  with  such  scant  financial 
recognition;  and  also  that  the  methods  by  which  their  claims 
were  ascertained  and  administered  were  as  futile  as  the  re- 
sults were  inadequate;  so  they  began  to  plan  to  remedy  this 
shameful  condition,  rescue  the  claimant  from  his  enforced 
position  as  a  mere  dependent,  restore  him  to  his  birthright 
as  a  member  of  the  ministerial  force,  and  reestablish  his  right 
to  a  comfortable  ministerial  support.  As  a  result  many 
Annual  Conferences  devised  plans  for  providing  annuities 
based  on  years  of  service,  with  incidental  help  in  all  cases 
of  emergency.  From  time  to  time  the  General  Conference 
took  a  hand,  until  in  1904  a  commission  of  picked  men  was 
ordered  to  study  the  subject  and  report  at  the  ensuing  ses- 
sion. With  patient  and  painstaking  labor  they  built  up  a 
system  which  was  embodied  in  their  report  and  adopted  in 
1908.  This  system  provides  annuities  based  on  years  of 
effective  service  as  its  main  feature;  as  Mr.  Marvin  Campbell 
well  says,  "putting  a  premium  on  continuing  in  the  service 
rather  than  on  entering  it."  While  we  urge  every  one  not 
to  postpone  his  giving,  but  to  be  "his  own  executor,"  yet  we 
hope  to  be  remembered  in  the  last  wills  of  many. 

We  need  a  better  sense  of  proportion  in  our  giving. 
Though  no  other  cause  outranks  this  in  the  justice  of  its 
claim,  yet  in  the  past  it  has  been  postponed  for  every  other 
cause.  Within  little  more  than  a  generation  gifts  to  benevo- 
lences increased  1,420  per  cent  in  the  Pittsburgh  Conference ; 
pastoral  support,  365  per  cent;  distribution  to  claimants,  435 
per  cent;  a  large  part  of  such  increase  coming  from  the 
dividends  of  The  Book  Concern,  Chartered  Fund  and  the 


78  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  and  from  the  income  of 
our  invested  funds.  Increase  of  ministerial  support  will  be 
a  great  blessing  to  the  Church  in  the  improvement  of  minis- 
terial service;  for  the  greatest  menace  to  the  effectiveness  of 
the  Methodist  minister  is  not  laziness  nor  worldliness,  but  the 
fact  that,  with  only  a  bare  "support"  during  active  years  and 
with  the  certainty  of  scant  fare  when  retired,  he  becomes  the 
prey  of  distracting  thoughts ;  the  needs  of  his  family  diverting 
him  in  part  from  the  duties  of  his  calling.  The  Church  will 
never  get  the  best  service  of  a  man  in  the  pulpit  or  in  the 
homes  if  he  must  be  perpetually  wrestling  with  financial  prob- 
lems, or  be  haunted  with  the  specter  of  scant  fare  when  his 
working  days  are  ended;  but  with  sufficient  provision  for  his 
active  service  and  assured  comfort  in  retirement,  the  Church 
will  have  a  right  to  demand  that  her  ministers  be  "separated" 
men,  given  wholly  to  the  work  of  God. 

We  should  evangelize  the  heathen  world,  but  we  ought  not 
to  forget  those  who  evangelized  us,  or  who  are  now  seeking 
the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.  We  should  pay  our 
church-debts,  but  we  should  discharge  in  larger  measure  our 
debt  to  those  "who  through  labor  and  travail  preached  unto 
us  the  gospel  of  God."  We  ought  to  give  liberally  to  educa- 
tion that  "the  coming  man"  may  be  fully  equipped  for  the 
great  day  in  which  God  shall  give  him  his  opportunity,  but 
we  ought  not  to  neglect  those  who  "with  bare  hands,"  mighty 
toil  and  heroic  endurance  prepared  the  way  for  him. 

The  Methodist  E|)iscopal  Church,  youngest  but  not  least 
of  ecclesiastical  world-poAvers,  cannot  afford  to  have  it  said, 
"The  hire  of  the  lal)orers  who  have  reaped  down  your 
harvests,  which  is  of  you  kept  back,  crieth." 

Washington,  Pa.  Charles  AV.  Miller. 


REQUISITES  OF  A  PREACHER 

A  father's  tenderness,  a  shepherd's  care, 

A  leader's  courage  which  the  cross  can  bear; 

A  ruler's  awe,  a  watchman's  wakeful  eye, 

A  pilot's  skill,  the  helm  in  storms  to  ply; 

A  fisher's  patience  and  a  laborer's  toil; 

A  guide's  dexterity  to  disembroil, 

A  prophet's  inspiration  from  above; 

A  teacher's  knowledge  and  a  Saviour's  love. 

- — Bishop  Ken. 


A  DEPENDABLE 
PENSION 

MR.  MARVIN  CAMPBELL 

Soutli  Bend,  Indiana,  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants 


A  LAYMAN'S  VIEW 

As  a  layman  I  approach  the  most  important  interest  of  the 
organic  Church,  its  preachers.  For  every  five  effective 
preachers  there  are  one  Retired  Minister  and  one  widow.  The 
interests  of  those  five  effective  preachers  are  so  closely  allied 
to  those  of  the  two  Conference  Claimants  as  to  be  almost 
insej^arable.  The  Retired  Minister  or  other  Claimant  should 
and  can  have  his  full  disciplinary  allowance,  and  not  be  com- 
pelled to  be  content  with  sixty  per  cent  of  it  as  now. 

ANNUAL  CONFERENCE  RESPONSIBILITY 

Responsibility  for  the  care  of  the  Retired  Ministers  rests 
almost  wholly  with  the  Annual  Conferences;  because,  in  pro- 
viding for  them  each  Annual  Conference  is  a  little  dominion 
of  its  own  clothed  with  autocratic  power.  It  determines 
who  are  Claimants;  fixes  its  own  rules  or  conditions  as  to 
retirement;  and  may  apportion  to  the  churches  any  amount 
it  may  deem  necessary  for  the  support  of  its  Claimants.  No 
preacher  can  be  retired  except  by  Conference  action.  This 
applies  to  no  other  department  of  the  Church ;  and  if  Claimants 
are  not  fully  paid,  the  responsibility  rests  almost  wholly  on 
the  Annual  Conference. 

The  law  gives  to  the  superannuate  more  consideration 
than  to  the  effective  minister,  but  he  does  not  get  as  much 
consideration.  The  Annual  Conference  can  apportion  to 
the  pastoral  charges  for  the  superannuates  whatever  amount 
it  will,  though  it  cannot  fix  or  even  suggest  the  amount  for 
the  support  of  the  pastor,  who  must  take  his  chances  with 
the  quarterly  conference. 

79 


80  THE  RETIRED  MIXISTER 

PAYMENT  OF  A  DEBT 

The  superannuate  and  the  widow  are  as  surely  entitled 
to  payment  as  the  effective  Minister.  There  is  no  higher 
duty  than  the  honest  payment  of  honest  debts.  The  discip- 
linary allotment  to  the  Claimant  is  a  debt,  a  part  of  the 
debt  for  ministerial  support.  We  have  no  religious  right, 
no  lionest  right,  to  refuse  payment  except  on  account  of  our 
ai)sohite  inability.  But  we  have  the  ability  both  as  to  wealth 
and  lil)erality;  and  although  we  have  not  yet  fully  demon- 
strated our  ability  as  to  organized  and  systematized  meth- 
ods, it  is  both  fair  and  gratifying  to  be  able  to  say  that  we 
are  in  better  condition,  much  better  condition,  than  we  were 
four  years  ago. 

SERVICE  ANNUITIES 

The  Discipline  does  not  define  the  conditions  which  en- 
title Claimants  to  a  service  annuity.  Each  Annual  Confer- 
ence should  establish  clean  cut  rules  for  its  action.  There 
should  be  well-defined  conditions  as  to  annuities,  and  they 
should  be  rigidly  observed.  The  option  to  make  a  distribu- 
tion based  upon  service  or  to  make  a  distribution  based  on 
necessity  could  not  be  justified  if  all  were  entitled  to  years 
of  service  annuity;  for  to  take  away  the  right  from  those 
who  have  met  annuity  conditions  would  be  unjust.  It  would 
create  a  deplorable  uncertainty  as  to  the  annuity,  no  matter 
how  faithful  or  how  long  the  service  had  been. 

Each  necessitous  case  must  be  passed  upon  individually, 
but  it  should  not  be  provided  for  by  taking  money  from 
entitled  annuitants.  Annuities  are  paid  in  spirit  and  fact 
as  ministerial  support.  Necessitous  payments  are  in  spirit 
and  fact  benevolences,  commendable  indeed,  but  nevertheless 
benevolences.  Annuitants  should  not  be  taxed  for  benevo- 
lences. These  should  be  met  from  other  sources.  The  spirit 
of  the  annuity  is  not  that  of  reward  for  having  been  a 
preacher,  but  rather  for  having  continued  to  be  a  preacher 
until  unfitted  for  the  itinerant  service. 

THE  PREACHER  ALONE  INDISPENSABLE 

We  can  dispense  with  tall  steeples,  ornamented  windows, 
elaborate  decorations,  carpeted  aisles,  rich-toned  organs  and 


A  DEPENDABLE  PENSION  81 

paid  choirs.  We  can  dispense  with  any  or  all  of  these  and 
still,  if  we  have  a  preacher,  we  can  have  a  church.  Indeed 
we  can  dispense  entirely  with  the  church  edifice,  and  if  we 
have  a  preacher  may  hold  meetings  in  school  houses,  pul)lic 
halls,  parlors  or  kitchens.  We  can  do  without  every  tiling 
else,  hut  ive  camiot  do  witltout  the  preacher.  lie  is  the  one, 
and  the  only  indispensaljle  factor  in  the  organic  Church. 

Without  fair  assurance  that  they  will  not  die  paupers, 
the  time  may  come  when  we  will  have  a  dearth  of  preachers; 
indeed  I  am  not  sure  but  it  has  come  already.  The  aver- 
age salaries  of  Methodist  Ministers  permit  no  savings,  and 
the  secular  world  will  not  give  employment  to  men  of  ad- 
vanced years.  Generally  the  service  annuity  is  the  only  hope 
of  income  after  old  age  retirement.  To  enter  the  itinerant 
life  with  no  fixed  home  is  sacrifice,  but  to  end  such  a  life- 
work  with  no  visible  support  is  to  he  sacrificed. 

The  budget  for  ministerial  support,  in  which  are  included 
both  the  effective  minister  and  the  superannuate,  is  the  most 
important  fund  of  the  whole  Church,  because  it  secures  and 
insures  the  one  and  the  only  indispensable  factor  of  the 
organic  Church.  Lay  hold  of  this  fact.  Take  it  home  to 
your  Annual  Conference:  The  most  important  part  of  the 
budget  of  your  church,  the  one  indispensable  fund  in  the 
whole  Church  is  that  for  ministerial  support,  which  includes 
the  support  of  the  Veteran  Ministry. 

CAN  THE  SERVICE  ANNUITY  BE  PAID  IN  PULL? 

Well,  can  ive  do  what  others  have  done,  and  are  doing? 
The  Methodist  Church,  Canada,  the  United  Methodist 
Church  and  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  England,  the 
Australian  Methodist  Church,  pay  full  annuities  to  their 
Conference  Claimants  and  have  done  so  for  many  years. 
There  is  absolutely  no  failure. 

If  we  are  as  loyal  to  our  Church,  if  we  are  as  just  to  our 
Retired  Ministers,  if  we  are  as  capable  administratively  as 
are  the  ^lethodists  of  Canada,  England  or  Australia,  then 
the  full  annuity  can  be  paid  by  us;  for  it  is  paid  by  them. 
We  must  admit  indifference  or  imbecility  or  both  unless  we 
grant  that  this  can  be  done.  Take  this  home  to  your  i\nnual 
Conference  and  see  to  it  that  it  meets  its  responsibility. 


82  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

The  churches  to  which  I  have  referred  have  well-defined 
conditions  as  to  annuity.  They  also  have  a  necessitous  fund; 
but  it  is  not  created  by  taking  money  from  the  annuitant. 
The  three  hundred  and  fourteen  superannuates  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  Canada,  average  thirty-four  years  of  service. 
Some  of  our  Annual  Conferences  average  as  low  as  twenty- 
six  years,  while  others  are  as  high  as  thirty-three  years.  In 
the  Canadian  Church  no  man  retires  upon  annuity  except 
after  forty  years  of  service,  unless  unfitted  for  itinerant  work. 

Let  me  repeat,  payment  cannot  be  made  to  the  one  not 
entitled  to  an  annuity  except  by  taking  money  from  those 
who  are  entitled.  What  stronger  call  for  systematic  method 
as  well  as  for  the  increase  of  funds? 

INDIANA  METHODISTS 

Indiana  Methodists  will  illustrate  the  average  situation. 
They  are  listed  as  paying  annual  grand  total  of  $400,000  to 
the  various  benevolences,  yet  the  shortage  due  Conference 
Claimants  last  year  was  $23,000;  a  deficit  of  thirty-five  per 
cent.  A  membership  that  pays  $400,000  to  various  and, 
some  of  them,  remote  benevolences,  can  and  will  pay  this 
$23,000  debt  if  it  is  properly  brought  to  their  notice  witli 
anytliing  like  the  insistence  or  system  of  secular  business. 
I  question  the  religious  right  to  pay  the  $400,000  to  benevo- 
lences until  the  $23,000  debt  to  Conference  Claimants  has 
been  paid;  but  all  can  be  paid. 

Business  prudence,  common  justice,  respect  for  the  law 
of  the  Church,  fidelity  to  the  aged  fathers  in  Israel,  all 
demand  a  full  and  dependable  annuity.  Then  why  are  not 
sufficient  funds  provided  ?    Simply  because  of  lack  of  method. 

I  am  told  of  a  Methodist  layman,  much  interested  in 
Conference  Claimants,  who  pays  to  various  benevolences, 
more  than  a  thousand  dollars  per  year  and  to  Conference 
Claimants,  five  dollars  and  thirty-eight  cents  per  year.  He 
pays  more  than  this  to  the  Humane  Society.  He  pays  to 
the  various  benevolences  because  they  are  brought  to  his 
notice  by  earnest  field  agents.  He  pays  to  the  Claimants 
his  ratio  share  of  the  budget  of  his  Cliurch.  Nobody  asks 
him  to  pay  more.  He  would  undoubtedly  pay  liberally,  if 
asked.  There  are  hundreds  of  such  cases;  able  to  give,  ready 
to  give,  but  uninformed. 


A  DEPENDABLE  PENSION         83 

A  CONFEKENCE  CLAIMANTS'  STEWAED 

Let  me  make  a  practical  suggestion,  which  is  by  far  the 
most  important  thing  I  have  to  say:  Have  a  Laymen's  Aid 
Society  or,  what  is  more  practicable,  broaden  the  scope  of 
your  Preacher's  Aid  Society  or  other  Annual  Conference 
organization  and  especially  the  work  of  the  field  agent,  so 
as  to  give  him  not  only  the  power  to  solicit  endowment,  but 
also  to  raise  a  current  budget  to  meet  the  entire  claimants' 
deficit  that  is  not  met  by  the  apportionment.  He  will  easily 
find  ways  to  prevent  any  annual  deficit  and  at  the  same  time 
be  more  efficient  as  to  endowments.  Place  upon  your  field 
agent  the  double  duty  of  securing  a  present  budget  for  the 
deficit  as  well  as  that  of  securing  endowment,  and  your 
problem  is  solved. 

In  every  quarterly  conference  there  should  be  a  Confer- 
ence Claimants'  steward.  A  Claimants'  steward  is  even 
more  logical  than  a  district  steward.  There  are  thirteen 
times  as  many  Conference  Claimants  as  district  superin- 
tendents. Why  not  have  a  steward  to  look  after  the  thirteen 
aged  and  infirm  Claimants  as  well  as  a  steward  to  look  after 
the  one  district  superintendent?  All  are  in  the  same  class, 
and  upon  the  same  pay  roll,  that  of  ministerial  support. 

ENDOWMENTS  NECESSAEY 

Endowment  investment  is  needed  for  the  Superannuate  as 
surely  as  church  and  parsonage  investment  is  needed  for  the 
pastor;  the  one  for  income,  the  other  to  save  rent.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  more  than  $225,000,000 
invested  in  churches  and  parsonages,  and  less  than  $4,000,000 
invested  as  endowments  for  three  thousand  Eetired  Ministers 
and  three  thousand  widows.  This  is  but  two  per  cent  of  the 
investment  for  twenty  per  cent  of  the  ministers;  or  if  all  the 
Claimants  are  counted  (widows  and  orphans  as  well  as  Ee- 
tired Ministers)  for  thirty  per  cent  of  all. 

I  say  that  endowment  is  needed;  but  do  not  depend  upon 
endowment  income,  for  it  may  be  many  years  before  this  will 
be  sufficient.  The  Claimant  must  be  provided  for  by  the 
budget  plan  as  surely  as  must  the  pastor,  and  a  part  of  it  at 
least  must  be  raised  upon  the  "ability  to  pay"  plan,  just  as 
the  salary  of  the  effective  preachers  is  raised  upon  the  "abil- 
ity to  give"  plan.    A  flat  assessment  upon  all  of  the  churches 


84  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

of  the  Conference  is  right  in  part,  but  the  whole  amount 
cannot  be  secured  in  this  way,  since  some  poor  churches 
cannot  give  more  than  they  are  now  giving. 

AYILLS  AND  LIFE  ANNUITY  BONDS 

Wills  and  after  death  ])onds  are  desirable,  very  desirable, 
but  don't  neglect  the  righteous  poor  while  waiting  for  the 
death  of  the  godly  rich. 

SUMMARY 

In  conclusion:  We  do  not  lack  money.  We  do  not  lack 
loyalty  to  the  Church.  We  do  not  lack  solicitude  for  the 
superannuate.  But  we  do  lack  method  and  an  intense  pur- 
pose to  see  the  Retired  Preaclier  through.  Take  this  home  to 
your  Annual  Conference  and  see  to  it  that  it  exercises  its 
autocratic  power  and  establishes  right  methods. 

THE  NATIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  LAYMEN 

summoned  "The  Whole  Church  to  its  Whole  Task,"  and 
called  for 

"The  hearty  and  full  support  of  those  Boards  which  are 
created  by  the  Church  as  the  proper  instruments  for  the 
application  of  the  benevolences  of  the  Church  to  the  world's 
need." 

There  is  no  greater  or  more  important  Benevolent  Board 
in  Methodism  than  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants, 
and  pastors  and  pastoral  charges  as  well  as  Methodist  laymen 
will  fail  to  do  their  whole  task,  unless  they  give  to  this 
Board  their  hearty  and  earnest  support. 

The  Convention  recognized 

"THE  SUPREME  CAUSE  OF  THE  RETIRED  VET- 
ERANS FOR  AN  ADEQUATE  SUPPORT  IN  THEIR 
OLD  AGE." 

As  a  layman  and  speaking  for  and  to  the  laymen  I  say 
with  the  Bishops : 

"Let  the  supreme  cause  have  the  Supreme  Place  in  1915." 

Marvin  Campbell. 

South  Bend,  Ind. 


THE  CHURCH'S 

OBLIGATION  TO 

THE  VETERAN 

MINISTRY 

THE  REV.  HENRY  H.  SWEETS,  D.D. 

Secretary  Ministerial  Relief 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S. 


Justice  Demands  It 

It  is  not  a  charity.  When  the  Church  ordains  a  man  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  she  says,  '' Separate  yourself  from 
the  sources  of  worldly  gain.  Minister  to  us  in  spiritual 
things  and  we  will  minister  to  you  in  material  things." 

Judge  Beaver  well  says:  ^'When  a  minister  has  been 
solemnly  ordained  and  thereby  adopted  by  the  Church,  and 
has,  by  his  ordination  vows,  voluntarily  closed  the  avenues 
by  which  men  ordinarily  acquire  a  competency,  and  after- 
ward becomes  physically  or  mentally  disqualified  for  the 
proper  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  high  office,  or  after  a 
half  century  of  devoted  service  is  laid  aside  by  the  infirmities 
of  age,  he  lias  a  right  morally — aye,  and  just  as  mudi  right 
legally  in  the  truest  sense — to  claim  from  the  Church  such 
provision  at  least  as  at  the  time  of  his  ordination  was  made 
for  those  in  like  circumstances." 

Honor  Enforces  It 

The  Church  cannot  afford  to  break  this  solemn  pledge.  A 
successful  business  man  wrote:  "I  think  we  all  appreciate 
to  some  extent  tliis  privilege  and  duty  that  God  has  laid  on 
us,  of  taking  care  of  His  aged  and  infirm  servants  and  their 
dependent  ones,  but  I  am  afraid  we  fail  to  appreciate  our 
individual  responsibility  in  this  matter.  Our  names  are  all 
on  the  bond  and  our  Master  is  our  endorser.  Do  toe  propose 
to  let  His  note  go  to  protest?" 

Dr.  Pierson  says :  "It  is  an  insult  to  call  this  charity.  It 
is  in  the  very  highest  sense  a  delt,  and  should  ])e  so  honored 
as  an  imperative  o])ligation  owed  to  those  wlio  used  their  days 

85 


86  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

of  strength  in  the  service  of  our  Lord;  and  no  blessing  can 
be  expected  on  a  Church  which  allows  the  veteran  soldier 
of  Christ  to  go  down  to  his  grave  a  dependent  on  charity, 
looking  for  a  miserable  pittance  bestowed  as  on  a  beggar,  for 
the  bare  subsistence  of  life." 

Gratitude  Compels  It 

The  ministers  who  are  on  our  rolls  have  turned  their  backs 
upon  inviting  fields.  They  have  made  themselves  poor  for 
the  sake  of  Christ  and  His  Church.  The  lonely  widows 
and  orphans  have  shared  these  privations  with  those  who 
have  fallen  in  the  strife.  They  have  sown  the  seed  in  hard 
and  ofttimes  unpromising  fields  and  we  to-day  are  reaping 
the  splendid  harvest.  They  laid  the  foundation  deep  and 
strong  upon  which  we  are  erecting  the  temple  of  God. 

Self-Respect  Requires  It 

The  farmer  cares  for  the  faithful  old  horse  which  has 
served  him  well.  The  house  dog  is  fed  from  his  master's 
table,  even  after  he  is  too  old  to  watch.  "Soulless  corpora- 
tions" are  setting  aside  vast  sums  of  money  from  which  they 
are  pensioning  those  who  have  assisted  them  in  gaining  their 
wealth.  And  shall  not  His  Church,  which  professes  to  have 
His  spirit,  minister  to  the  needs  of  God's  aged  saints  who 
have  denied  themselves  in  the  days  of  their  strength  in  order 
that  they  might  care  for  the  poor,  seek  the  lost,  relieve  the 
sorrowing,  and  lead  to  a  blessed  hope  in  God? 

Expediency  Suggests  It 

It  is  not  expedient  for  the  Church  to  let  her  worn-out 
servants  come  to  pinching  need  and  humiliating  poverty. 
The  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  declared:  "This  is  the 
day  of  opportunity.  If  the  Church  does  not  act  promptly, 
not  only  will  the  cause  of  Ministerial  Relief  suffer,  but  the 
supply  of  candidates  for  the  ministry  will  be  seriously 
affected.  If  the  father  lies  wounded  on  the  field  of  battle 
uncared  for,  can  we  expect  the  son  to  fill  his  place  in  the 
depleted  ranks?"  And  where  could  you  find  a  missionary, 
either  at  home  or  abroad,  laboring  on  an  insufficient  salary, 
who,  should  he  know  that  if  he  fall  by  the  way,  the  loving 
arms  of  the  Church  would  be  placed  beneath  him;  or  if  he 


THE  CHURCIPS  OBLIGATION  87 

be  called  to  his  reward,  his  wife  and  his  little  ones  would  be 
eared  for  by  the  Church,  would  not  have  more  heart  and 
zeal  to  put  into  his  exacting  labor? 

Sympathy  Directs  It 

The  loneliness  of  these  brave  old  warriors,  shut  up  of  ttimes 
within  the  four  walls  of  their  rooms,  and  the  dependence  of 
the  widows  and  orphans  who  have  shared  the  privations  of 
those  whose  tired  bodies  rest  in  "the  bivouac  of  the  dead,'*' 
is  a  pathetic,  mute  appeal.  They  are  not  laggards.  Gladly 
would  they  be  again  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle.  But  God 
has  shut  them  in.  Added  to  their  weakness  and  pain  of  body 
is  the  thought,  which  sometimes  must  come,  that  they  are 
forgotten — orphaned  by  the  Church. 

Eeligion^  Urges  It 

It  is  of  the  very  essence  of  Christianity.  "Pure  religion 
and  undefiled  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this:  To  visit 
the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  him- 
self unspotted  from  the  world.''  To  plead  for  these  Veterans 
is  not  begging.  It  is  counsel  to  do  right  that  the  people  need 
— counsel  for  the  lack  of  which  the  Church  is  daily  forfeiting 
the  blessings  of  duty  done.  Therefore,  to  the  ministry,  we 
would  say:  Shake  ojf  your  false  modesty.  Help  the  Church 
to  do  rigJit.  Your  aged  brethren  are  suffering  through  a 
neglect  for  which  the  people  are  not  responsible,  since  they 
do  not  know  the  facts.  It  is  in  your  power  to  make  the 
facts  known,  and  so  to  help  them.  "117/0x0  seetJi  his  hrotlier 
have  need,  and  shutteth  up  liis  compassion  from  him,  how 
dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him?" 

Obedience  Enjoins  It 

The  support  of  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  is  not  a  matter 
left  to  the  whims  of  men.  It  is  according  to  the  Divine  order. 
God  means  that  no  minister  shall  be  "entangled  in  affairs 
of  this  life,"  and  to  prevent  this  He  made  abundant  jDrovision 
for  those  set  apart  to  the  service  of  the  sanctuary.  Having 
no  inheritance  among  the  children  of  Israel,  the  Levites  were 
assured  from  want  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  and  their 
widows  and  orphans  after  them.  The  abundant  tithes  and 
offerings,    the   levitical    cities   and   their    suburbs,   and    the 


88  THE  Hh7n  RED  MINJSTEK 

sacredness  of  their  calling  assured  to  all  those  who  stood 
before  the  Lord  to  minister  to  Him,  the  most  ample,  con- 
tinuous, and  unfailing  supply  for  all  their  wants. 

God  declares  through  the  apostle  Paul :  "Do  ye  not  know 
that  they  which  minister  about  holy  things  live  of  the  things 
of  the  temple?  And  they  which  wait  at  the  altar  are  par- 
takers with  the  altar?  Even  so  hath  the  Lord  ordained  that 
they  which  preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel/'  Time 
and  again  God  said,  "Take  heed  that  thou  forsake  not  the 
Levite  so  long  as  thou  livest  in  the  land." 

Lord,  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet,  Lest  we  forget! 

The  Love  of  Christ  Constrains  Us 

We  cannot  now  see  Him  with  our  eyes,  or  minister  to  His 
bodily  needs,  but  He  has  identified  Himself  with  His  disci- 
ples. Then  shall  the  King  say,  "Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world:  for  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye 
gave  me  meat;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink;  I  was 
a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me;  I 
was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came 
unto  me.  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least 
of  these  mij  brethren,  ye  liave  done  it  unto  me/' 

The  Example  of  Jesus  Guides  Us 

Our  Saviour  taught  by  His  life  as  well  as  by  the  words  of 
grace  that  flowed  from  His  lips.  He  left  a  striking  example 
in  His  care  for  His  own  mother.  See  Him  on  the  cross 
enduring  sufi'ering,  pain,  death;  dying  for  the  sons  of  men. 
As  He  looks  out  over  the  vast  crowd,  His  eye  falls  upon  His 
mother.  He  sees  the  days  of  loneliness  and  want  that  must 
come  to  her.  Hear  His  tender  words,  "Woman,  behold  thy 
son.  John,  behold  thy  mother."  If  the  Saviour,  in  anguish 
and  pain  and  death,  recognized  His  mother's  need  and  made 
provision  for  it,  should  not  the  grateful  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  these  days  of  wonderful  material  prosperity  care, 
even  with  lavish  hands,  for  those  who,  in  a  special  sense,  are 
the  mothers  and  brothers  and  sisters  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ? 

Henry  H.  Sweets. 

Louisville,  Ky. 


THE  SHEPHERD  WHO 
WATCHED  BY  NIGHT 

THOMAS  NELSON  PAGE 

From  "The  Land  of  the  Spirit,"  Copyright,  1913, 

by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons 

Illustrations  by  Paul  Julicn  Meylan 


The  place  had  nothing  distinguished  or  even  perhai:'s  dis- 
tinctive about  it  except  its  trees  and  the  tapering  spire  of 
a  church  lifting  above  them.  It  was  not  unlike  a  hundred 
other  places  that  one  sees  as  one  travels  through  the  country. 
It  called  itself  a  town ;  but  it  was  hardly  more  than  a  village. 
One  long  street,  now  paved  on  both  sides,  climbed  the  hill, 
where  the  old  post-road  used  to  run  in  from  the  country  on 
one  side  and  out  again  on  the  other,  passing  a  dingy,  large 
house  with  white-washed  pillars,  formerly  known  as  the  tav- 
ern, but  now  calling  itself  "The  Inn.^'  This,  with  two  or 
three  cross-streets  and  a  short  street  or  two  on  either  side  of 
the  main  street,  constituted  "the  town.-"  A  number  of  good 
houses,  and  a  few  very  good,  indeed,  sat  back  in  yards  digni- 
fied by  fine  trees.  Three  or  four  churches  stood  on  corners, 
as  far  apart  apparently  as  possible.  Several  of  them  were 
much  newer  and  fresher  painted  than  the  one  with  the  spire 
and  cross;  but  this  was  the  only  old  one  and  was  generally 
spoken  of  as  "The  Church,^'  as  the  rector  was  meant  when  the 
people  spoke  of  "the  preacher.''^  It  sat  back  from  the  street, 
in  a  sort  of  sordid  seclusion,  and  near  it,  yet  more  retired, 
was  an  old  mansion,  also  dilapidated,  with  a  wide  porch, 
much  decayed,  and  to  the  side  and  a  little  behind  it,  an  out- 
building or  two,  one  of  which  was  also  occupied  as  a  dwelling. 
The  former  was  the  rectory,  and  the  smaller  dwelling  was 
where  the  old  woman  lived  who  took  care  of  the  rectory, 
cleaned  up  the  two  or  three  rooms  which  the  rector  used  since 
his  wife's  death,  and  furnished  him  his  meals.  It  had  begun 
only  as  a  temporary  arrangement,  but  it  seemed  to  work 
well  enough  and  had  gone  on  now  for  years  and  no  one 
thought  of  changing  it.  If  an  idea  of  change  ever  entered 
the  mind  of  any  one,  it  was  only  when  the  old  woman's 

89 


90  THE  EETlIiED  MINISTER 

grumbling  floated  out  into  the  town  as  to  the  tramps  who 
would  come  and  whom  the  preacher  would  try  to  take  care 
of.  Then,  indeed,  discussion  would  take  place  as  to  the 
utter  impracticability  of  the  old  preacher  and  the  possibility 
of  getting  a  younger  and  livelier  man  in  his  place.  For 
the  rest  of  the  time  the  people  were  hopeless.  The  old 
preacher  was  not  only  past  his  prime  but  his  usefulness.  Yet 
what  could  they  do?  No  one  else  wanted  him,  and  they 
could  not  turn  him  out.  He  was  saddled  on  them  for  life. 
They  ran  simply  by  the  old  propulsion;  but  the  church  was 
going  down,  they  said,  and  they  were  helpless.  This  had  been 
the  case  for  years  and  now  as  the  year  neared  its  close  it  was 
the  same. 

Such  was  the  talk  as  they  finished  dressing  the  church  for 
Christmas  and  made  their  way  homeward — the  few  who  still 
took  interest  enough  to  help  in  this  way. .  They  felt  sorry  for 
the  old  man  who  had  been  much  in  their  way  during  the 
dressing,  but  sorrier  for  themselves. 

This  had  been  a  few  days  before  Christmas  and  now  it  was 
Christmas  eve. 

The  old  rector  sat  at  his  table  trying  to  write  his  Christmas 
sermon.  He  was  hopelessly  behindhand  with  it.  The  table 
was  drawn  up  close  to  the  worn  stove,  but  the  little  bare  room 
was  cold,  and  now  and  then  the  old  man  blew  on  his  fingers 
to  warm  them,  and  pushed  his  feet  closer  to  the  black  hearth. 
Again  and  again  he  took  up  his  pen  as  if  to  write,  and  as 
often  laid  it  down  again.  The  weather  was  bitter  and  the  coal 
would  not  burn.  There  was  little  to  burn.  He  wore  his  old 
overcoat,  to  save  fuel.  Before  him  on  the  table,  amid  a  litter 
of  other  books  and  papers,  lay  a  worn  Bible  and  prayer-book 
open,  and  beside  them  a  folded  letter  on  which  his  eye  often 
rested.  Outside,  the  wind  roared,  shaking  the  doors,  rattling 
the  w^indows  and  whistling  at  the  key-holes.  Now  and  then 
the  sound  of  a  passing  vehicle  was  borne  in  on  the  wind,  and 
at  intervals  came  the  voices  of  boys  shouting  to  each  other 
as  they  ran  })y.  The  old  man  did  not  hear  the  former,  but 
when  the  boys  shouted  he  listened  till  they  had  ceased,  his 
thoughts  turned  to  the  past  and  to  the  two  boys  whom  God 
had  given  him  and  had  then  taken  back  to  Himself.  His 
gray  face  wore  a  look  of  deep  concern,  and,  indeed,  of  dejec- 
tion, and  his  eye  wandered  once  more  to  the  folded  letter  on 


THE  SHEPHERD  WHO  WATCHED      91 

the  table.  It  was  signed  "A  Friend/'  and  it  was  this  which 
was  responsible  for  the  unwritten  Christmas  sermon.  It  was 
what  the  world  calls  an  anonymous  letter  and,  though  couched 
in  kindly  terms,  it  had  struck  a  dagger  into  the  old  man's 
heart.  Yet  he  could  not  but  say  that  in  tone  and  manner 
it  was  a  kind  act.  Certainly  it  had  told  the  truth  and  if  in 
tearing  a  veil  from  his  eyes  it  had  stunned  him,  why  should 
he  not  face  the  truth ! 

He  took  the  letter  up  again  and  reread  it,  not  that  he 
needed  to  read  it,  for  he  knew  it  by  heart.  Every  sentence 
was  seared  into  his  memory. 

He  reread  it  hoping  to  find  some  answer  to  its  plain,  blunt, 
undenial)le  statements,  but  he  found  none.  It  was  all  true, 
every  word,  from  the  ominous  beginning  which  stated  that 
the  writer  felt  that  he  had  "a  clear  duty  to  perform,"  down 
to  the  close  when  with  a  protestation  of  good-will  he  signed 
himself  the  old  man's  friend. 

"You  must  see,  imless  you  are  blind,"  ran  the  letter,  "that 
your  church  is  running  down,  and  unless  you  get  out  and  let 
the  congregation  secure  a  new  and  younger  man,  there  will 
soon  be  no  congregation  at  all  left.  No  men  come  to  church 
any  longer  and  many  women  who  used  to  come  now  stay 
away.  You  are  a  good  man,  but  you  are  a  failure.  Your 
usefulness  is  past."  Yes,  it  was  true,  he  was  a  failure.  His 
usefulness  was  past.  This  was  the  reason  doubtless  that  no 
Christmas  things  had  come  this  year — they  wanted  to  let  him 
know.    It  pained  him  to  think  it,  and  he  sighed. 

"You  spend  your  time  fooling  about  a  lot  of  useless  things," 
continued  the  anonymous  friend,  "visiting  people  who  do  not 
come  to  church,  and  you  have  turned  the  rectory  into  a  harbor 
for  tramps. 

"You  cannot  preach  any  longer.  You  are  hopelessly  behind 
the  times.  People  nowadays  want  no  more  doctrinal  points 
discussed;  they  want  to  hear  live,  up-to-date,  practical  dis- 
courses on  the  vital  problems  of  the  day,  such  as  the  Rev. 

Dr.  delivers.     His  church  is  full."    This  also  was  true. 

He  was  no  longer  able  to  preach.  He  had  felt  something  of 
this  himself.  Now  it  came  home  to  him  like  a  blow  on  the 
head,  and  a  deeper  pain  was  the  conviction  which,  long  hover- 
ing about  his  heart,  now  settled  and  took  definite  sliape,  that 
he  ought  to  get  out.     But  where  could  he  go?     He  would 


92  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

have  gone  long  since  if  he  had  known  where  to  go.  He  could 
not  go  out  and  graze  like  an  old  horse  on  the  roadside.  There 
was  no  provision  made  for  such  as  he.  No  pensions  were 
provided  by  his  church  for  old  and  disabled  clergymen,  and 
the  suggestion  made  ni  the  letter  had  no  foundation  in  his 
case:  "You  must  or,  at  least,  you  should  have  saved  some- 
thing in  all  this  time.'^ 

This  sounded  almost  humorous  and  a  wintry  little  smile 
flickered  for  a  moment  about  the  wrinkled  mouth.  His  salary 
had  never  been  over  six  hundred  dollars,  and  there  were  so 
many  to  give  to.  Of  late,  it  had  been  less  than  this  amount 
and  not  all  of  this  had  been  paid.  The  smile  died  out  and 
the  old  man^s  face  grew  grave  again  as  he  tried  to  figure  out 
what  he  could  do.  He  thought  of  one  or  two  old  friends  to 
whom  he  could  write.  Possibly,  they  might  know  some 
country  parish  that  would  be  willing  to  take  him,  though  it 
was  a  forlorn  hope.  If  he  could  but  hold  on  till  they  invited 
him,  it  would  be  easier,  for  he  knew  how  difficult  it  was  for 
a  clergyman  out  of  a  place  to  get  a  call.  People  were  so  suspi- 
cious.   Once  out,  he  was  lost. 

At  the  thought,  a  picture  of  a  little  plot  amid  the  trees  in 
the  small  cemetery  on  the  hill  near  the  town  slipped  into  his 
mind.  Three  little  slabs  stood  there  above  three  mounds,  one 
longer  than  the  others.  They  covered  all  that  was  mortal  of 
what  he  had  loved  best  on  earth.  The  old  man  sighed  and 
his  face  in  the  dim  light  took  on  an  expression  very  far  away. 
He  drifted  off  into  a  reverie.  Ah,  if  they  had  only  been  left 
to  him,  the  two  boys  that  God  had  sent  him  and  had  then 
taken  back  to  Himself,  and  the  good  wife  who  had  borne  up 
so  bravely  till  she  had  sunk  by  the  wayside !  If  he  were  only 
with  them !  He  used  to  be  rebellious  at  the  neglect  that  left 
the  trains  so  deadly,  but  that  was  gone  now.  He  leant  for- 
ward on  his  elbows  and  gradually  slipped  slowly  to  his  knees. 
He  was  on  them  a  long  time,  and  when  he  tried  to  rise  he 
was  quite  stiff ;  but  his  face  had  grown  tranquil.  He  had  been 
in  high  converse  with  the  blessed  of  God  and  his  mind  had 
cleared.  He  had  placed  everything  in  God's  hands,  and  He 
had  given  him  light.  He  would  wait  until  after  Christmas 
and  then  he  would  resign.  But  he  would  announce  it  next 
day.  The  flock  there  should  have  a  new  and  younger  and 
abler  shepherd.    This  would  be  glad  tidings  to  them. 


THE  SHEPHERD  WHO  WATCHED      93 

He  folded  up  the  letter  and  put  it  away.  He  no  longer 
felt  wounded  by  it.  It  was  of  God's  ordaining  and  was  to  be 
received  as  a  kindness,  a  ray  of  light  to  show  him  the  path  of 
duty.  He  drew  his  paper  toward  him  and,  taking  up  his  pen, 
began  to  write  rapidly  and  firmly.  The  doubt  was  gone,  the 
way  was  clear.    His  text  had  come  to  his  mind. 

''And  there  luere  in  the  same  country  shepherds  abiding  in 
the  field,  keeping  watch  over  their  fi^ock  by  iiight,  and  lo,  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
shone  round  about  them;  and  they  were  sore  afraid.  And 
the  Angel  said  imto  them.  Fear  not:  for  behold,  I  bring  you 
good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people.  For 
unto  you  is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a  Saviour, 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord.  And  this  shall  be  a  sign  unto  you; 
Ye  shall  find  the  babe  wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  lying 
in  a  manger." 

Unfolding  the  story,  he  told  of  the  darkness  that  had  settled 
over  Israel  under  the  Roman  sway  and  the  formalism  of  the 
Jewish  hierarchy  at  the  time  of  Christ^s  coming,  drawing 
from  it  the  lesson  that  God  still  had  shepherds  watching 
over  His  flocks  in  the  night  to  whom  He  vouchsafed  to  send 
His  heavenly  messengers.  On  and  on  he  wrote,  picturing  the 
divine  mission  of  the  Redeemer  and  His  power  to  save  souls, 
and  dwelling  on  Christmas  as  the  ever  recurrent  reminder 
of  ''the  tender  mercy  of  our  God  whereby  the  day  spring 
from  on  high  hath  visited  us.'' 

Suddenly  he  came  to  a  pause.  Something  troubled  him. 
It  came  to  him  that  he  had  heard  that  a  woman  in  the  town 
was  very  sick  and  he  had  intended  going  to  see  her.  She  had 
had  a  bad  reputation ;  but  he  had  heard  that  she  had  reformed. 
At  any  rate  she  was  ill.  He  paused  and  deliberated.  At  the 
moment  the  wind  rattled  the  shutters.  She  did  not  belong 
to  his  flock  or,  so  far  as  he  knew,  to  any  flock,  and  once  when 
he  had  stopped  her  on  the  street  and  spoken  to  her  of  her  evil 
life,  she  had  insulted  him.  She  had  told  him  that  he  had 
better  look  after  his  own  people  instead  of  lecturing  her.  He 
turned  back  to  his  paper,  pen  in  hand;  but  it  was  borne  in 
on  him  that  he  was  writing  of  watching  over  the  flock  by 
night  and  here  he  was  neglecting  one  of  his  Father's  sheep. 
He  laid  aside  his  pen  and,  rising,  took  down  his  old  hat  and 
stick,   lit  his   lantern,   turned   on   his   lamp,   and,   shufiling 


94  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

through  the  bare,  narrow  passage,  let  himself  out  at  the 
door.  As  he  came  out  on  to  the  little  porch  to  step  down 
to  the  walk,  the  wind  struck  him  fiercely  and  he  had  some 
difficulty  in  fastening  the  door  with  its  loose  lock;  but  this 
done  he  pushed  forward.  The  black  trees  swayed  and  creaked 
above  him  in  the  wind,  and  fine  particles  of  snow  stung  his 
withered  cheeks.  He  wondered  if  the  shepherds  in  the  fields 
ever  had  such  a  night  as  this  for  their  watch.  He  remem- 
bered to  have  read  that  snow  fell  on  the  mountains  of  Judea. 
It  was  a  blustering  walk.  The  wind  felt  as  if  it  would  blow 
through  him.    Yet  he  stumbled  onward. 

At  length  he  reached  the  little  house  on  the  back  street  in 
the  worst  part  of  the  village,  where  he  had  heard  the  sick 
woman  lived.  A  light  glimmered  dimly  in  an  upper  window 
and  his  knocking  finally  brought  to  the  door  a  woman  who 
looked  after  her.  She  was  not  in  a  good  humor  at  being  dis- 
turbed at  that  hour,  for  her  rest  had  been  much  broken  of 
late ;  but  she  was  civil  and  invited  him  in. 

In  answer  to  his  question  of  how  her  patient  was,  she 
replied  shortly:  "No  better;  the  doctor  says  she  can't  last 
much  longer.  Do  you  want  to  see  her  ?"  she  added  presently. 
The  old  rector  said  he  did  and  she  waved  toward  the  stair. 
"You  can  walk  up." 

As  they  climbed  the  stair  she  added :  "She  said  you'd  come 
if  you  knew."  The  words  made  the  old  man  warmer.  And 
when  she  opened  the  door  of  the  sick-room  and  said, 
"Here's  the  preacher,  as  you  said,"  the  faint  voice  of  the  in- 
valid murmuring,  "I  hoped  you'd  come,"  made  him  feel  yet 
warmer. 

He  was  still  of  some  use  even  in  this  parish. 

Whatever  her  face  had  been  in  the  past,  illness  and  suffer- 
ing had  refined  it.  He  stayed  there  long,  for  he  found  that 
she  needed  him.  She  unburdened  herself  to  him.  She  was 
sorry  she  had  been  rude  to  him  that  time.  She  had  been  a 
sinful  woman.  She  said  she  had  tried  of  late  to  live  a  good 
life,  since  that  day  he  had  spoken  to  her,  but  she  now  found 
that  she  had  not.  She  had  wanted  to  be  a  believer  and  she 
had  gone  to  hear  him  preach  one  day  after  that,  but  now  she 
did  not  seem  to  believe  anything.  They  told  her  that  she 
must  repent.  She  wanted  to  repent,  but  she  could  not  feel. 
She  was  in  the  dark  and  she  feared  she  was  lost.     The  old 


THE  SHEPHERD  AVHO  WATCHED  95 

man  had  taken  his  seat  by  her  side  and  he  now  held  her  hand 
and  soothed  her  tenderly. 

"Once,  perhaps,"  he  said  doubtfully,  "though  God  only 
knows  that,  but  certainly  no  longer.  Christ  died  for  you. 
You  say  you  wanted  to  change,  that  you  tried  to  ask  God^s 
pardon  and  to  live  a  better  life  even  before  you  fell  ill.  Do 
you  think  you  could  want  this  as  much  as  God  wanted  it? 
He  put  the  wish  into  your  heart.  Do  you  think  He  would 
now  let  you  remain  lost?  Why,  He  sent  His  Son  into  the 
world  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost.  He  has  sent  me  to  you 
to-night  to  tell  you  that  He  has  come  to  save  you.  It  is 
not  you  that  can  save  yourself,  but  He,  and  if  you  feel 
that  it  is  dark  about  you,  never  mind — the  path  is  still 
there.  One  of  the  old  Fathers  has  said  that  God  sometimes 
puts  His  children  to  sleep  in  the  dark." 

"But  I  have  been —  You  don't  know  what  I  have  been," 
she  murmured.  The  old  man  laid  his  hand  softly  on  her 
head. 

"He  not  only  forgave  the  Magdalen,  for  her  love  of  Him, 
l)ut  He  vouchsafed  to  her  the  first  sight  of  His  face  after  His 
resurrection." 

"I  see,"  she  said  simply. 

A  little  later  she  dozed  off,  but  presently  roused  up  again. 
A  bell  was  ringing  somewhere  in  the  distance.  It  was  the 
ushering  in  of  the  Christmas  morn. 

"What  is  that  ?"  she  asked  feebly. 

He  told  her. 

"I  think  if  I  were  well,  if  I  could  ever  be  good  enough,  I 
should  like  to  join  the  church,"  she  said.  "I  remember  being- 
baptized — long  ago." 

"You  have  joined  it,"  he  replied. 

Just  then  the  nurse  brought  her  a  glass. 

"What  is  that  ?"  she  asked  feebly. 

"A  little  wine."  She  held  up  a  bottle  in  wliicli  a  small 
quantity  remained. 

It  seemed  to  the  old  preacher  a  sort  of  answer  to  his 
thought.  "Have  you  bread  here?"  he  asked  the  young 
woman.  She  went  out  and  a  moment  later  brought  him  a 
piece  of  bread. 

He  had  often  administered  the  early  communion  on  Christ- 
mas morning,  l)ut  never  remembered  a  celebration  that  had 


A  PATCH  OF  WHITE  BECAME  ....  A  FACE  AND,  BELOW,  A  8MALL  BUNDLE  CLASPED 
TO   HER   BREAST   TOOK   ON   THE   LINES   OF   A  BABE 


THE  SHEPHERD  WHO  WATCHED      9^ 

seemed  to  him  so  real  and  satisfying.  As  he  thought  of  the 
saints  departed  this  life  in  the  faith  and  fear  of  God,  they 
appeared  to  throng  about  him  as  never  before,  and  among 
them  were  the  faces  he  had  known  and  loved  best  on  earth. 

It  was  toward  morning  when  he  left;  as  he  bade  her  good- 
by  he  knew  he  should  see  her  no  more  this  side  of  Heaven. 

As  he  came  out  into  the  night  the  snow  was  falling,  but 
the  wind  had  died  down  and  he  no  longer  felt  cold.  The  street 
was  empty,  but  he  no  longer  felt  lonely.  He  seemed  to  have 
got  nearer  to  God's  throne. 

Suddenly,  as  he  neared  his  house,  a  sound  fell  on  his  ears. 
He  stopped  short  and  listened.  Could  he  have  been  mistaken  ? 
Could  that  have  been  a  baby's  cry?  There  was  no  dwelling 
near  but  his  own,  and  on  that  side  only  the  old  and  unoc- 
cupied stable  in  the  yard  whence  the  sound  had  seemed 
to  come.  A  glance  at  it  showed  that  it  was  dark  and  he  was 
moving  on  again  to  the  house  when  the  sound  was  repeated. 
This  time  there  was  no  doubt  of  it.  A  baby's  wail  came  clear 
on  the  silence  of  the  night  from  the  unused  stable.  A 
thought  that  it  might  be  some  poor  foundling  flashed  into 
his  mind.  The  old  man  turned  and,  stumbling  across  the 
yard,  went  to  the  door. 

"Who  is  here  ?"  he  asked  of  the  dark.  There  was  no  answer, 
but  the  child  wailed  again  and  he  entered  the  dark  build- 
ing, asking  again,  "Who  is  here?"  as  he  groped  his  way  for- 
ward. This  time  a  voice  almost  inarticulate  answered. 
Holding  his  dim  little  lantern  above  his  head,  he  made  his 
way  inside,  peering  into  the  darkness,  and  presently,  in  a 
stall,  on  a  lot  of  old  litter,  he  descried  a  dark  and  shapeless 
mass  from  which  the  sound  came.  Moving  forward,  he  bent 
down,  with  the  lantern  held  low,  and  the  dark  mass  grad- 
ually took  shape  as  a  woman's  form  seated  on  the  straw.  A 
patch  of  white,  from  which  a  pair  of  eyes  gazed  up  at  him, 
became  a  face  and,  below,  a  small  bundle  clasped  to  her 
breast  took  on  the  lines  of  a  babe. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  he  asked,  breathless  with  as- 
tonishment. She  shook  her  head  wearily  and  her  lips  moved 
as  if  to  say,  "I  didn't  mean  any  harm."  But  no  sound  came. 
She  only  tried  to  fold  the  babe  more  warmly  in  her  shawl. 
He  took  off  his  overcoat  and  wrapped  it  around  her.  "Come," 
he  said  firmly.    "You  must  come  with  me,"  he  added  kindly ; 


98  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

then,  as  she  did  not  rise,  he  put  out  his  hand  to  lift  her,  but, 
instead,  suddenly  set  down  tlie  lantern  and  took  the  babe 
gently  into  his  arms.  She  let  him  take  the  child,  and  rose 
slowly,  her  eyes  still  on  him.  He  motioned  for  her  to  take 
the  lantern  and  she  did  so.  And  they  came  to  the  door.  He 
turned  up  the  walk,  with  the  babe  in  his  arms,  and  she  going 
before  him  with  the  lantern.  The  ground  was  softly  carpeted 
with  snow,  the  wind  had  died  down,  but  the  clouds  had  dis- 
appeared and  the  trees  were  all  white,  softly  gleaming,  like 
dream-trees  in  a  dreamland.  The  old  man  shivered  slightly, 
but  not  now  with  cold.  He  felt  as  if  he  had  gone  back  and 
held  once  more  in  his  arms  one  of  those  babes  he  had  given 
back  to  God.  He  thought  of  the  shepherds  who  watched  by 
night  on  the  Judean  hills.  "It  must  have  been  such  a  night 
as  this,"  he  thought. 

As  they  reached  his  door  he  saw  that  some  one  had  been 
there  in  his  absence.  A  large  box  stood  on  the  little  porch 
and  beside  it  a  basket  filled  with  things.  So  he  had  not  been 
forgotten  after  all.  The  milkman  also  had  called  and  for  his 
customary  small  bottle  of  milk  had  left  one  of  double  the 
usual  size.  When  he  let  himself  in  at  the  door,  he  took  the 
milk  with  him.  So  the  shepherds  might  have  done,  he 
thought. 

It  was  long  before  he  could  get  the  fire  to  burn;  but  in 
time  this  was  accomplished;  the  room  grew  warm  and  the 
milk  was  warmed  also.  The  baby  was  quieted  and  was  soon 
asleep  in  its  mother's  lap.  And  as  the  firelight  fell  from  tiie 
open  stove  on  the  child,  in  its  mother's  arms  before  the  stove, 
the  old  man  thought  of  a  little  picture  he  had  once  seen  in 
a  shop  window.  He  had  wanted  to  buy  it,  but  he  had  never 
felt  that  he  could  gratify  such  a  taste.  There  were  too  many 
calls  on  him.  Then,  as  she  appeared  overcome  with  fatigue, 
the  old  man  put  her  with  the  child  in  the  only  bed  in  the 
house  that  was  ready  for  an  occupant  and,  returning  to  the 
little  living-room,  ensconced  himself  in  his  arm-chair  by  the 
stove.  He  had  meant  to  finish  his  sermon,  but  he  was  con- 
scious for  the  first  time  that  he  was  very  tired.  But  he  was 
also  very  happy.  When  he  awoke  he  found  it  was  quite  late. 
He  had  overslept  and  though  his  breakfast  had  been  set  out 
for  him,  he  had  time  only  to  make  his  toilet  and  to  go  to 
church.    The  mother  and  child  were  still  asleep  in  his  room, 


THE  SHEPHEED  WHO  WATCHED      99 

the  babe  folded  in  her  arm,  and  he  stopped  only  to  gaze  on 
them  a  moment  and  to  set  the  rest  of  the  milk  and  his  break- 
fast where  the  young  mother  could  find  it  on  awaking.  Then 
he  went  to  church,  taking  his  half-finished  sermon  in  his  worn 
case.  He  thought  with  some  dismay  that  it  was  unfinished, 
but  the  memory  of  the  poor  woman  and  the  midnight  com- 
munion, and  of  the  young  mother  and  her  babe,  comforted 
him;  so  he  plodded  on  bravely.  When  he  reached  the  church 
it  was  nearly  full.  He  had  not  had  such  a  congregation  in  a 
long  time.  And  they  were  all  cheerful  and  happy.  The  pang 
he  had  had  as  he  remembered  that  he  was  to  announce  his 
resignation  that  day  was  renewed,  but  only  for  a  second. 
The  thought  of  the  babe  and  its  mother,  warmed  and  fed  in 
his  little  home,  drove  it  away.  And  soon  he  began  the  service. 
He  had  never  had  such  a  service.  It  all  appeared  to  him 
to  have  a  new  meaning.  He  felt  nearer  to  the  people  in  the 
pews  than  he  ever  remem])ered  to  have  felt.  They  were  more 
than  ever  his  flock  and  he  more  than  ever  their  shepherd. 
More,  he  felt  nearer  to  mankind,  and  yet  more  near  to  those 
who  had  gone  before — the  innumerable  company  of  the  re- 
deemed. They  were  all  about  him,  clad  all  in  white,  glister- 
ing like  the  sun.  The  heavens  seemed  full  of  them.  When 
he  turned  his  eyes  to  the  window  the  whole  earth  seemed 
white  with  them.  The  singing  sounded  in  his  ears  like  the 
choiring  of  angels.  He  was  now  in  a  maze'.  He  forgot  the 
notice  he  had  meant  to  give  and  went  straight  into  his  ser- 
mon, stumbling  a  little  as  he  climbed  the  steps  to  the  pulpit. 
He  repeated  the  text  and  kept  straight  on.  He  told  the  story 
of  the  shepherds  in  the  fields  watching  their  flocks  when  the 
Angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  them,  and  told  of  the  Babe  in 
the  manger  who  was  Christ  the  Lord.  He  spoke  for  the 
shepherds.  He  pictured  the  shepherds  watching  through  the 
night  and  made  a  plea  for  their  loneliness  and  the  hardship 
of  their  lives.  They  were  very  poor  and  ignorant.  But  they 
had  to  watch  the  flock  and  God  had  chosen  them  to  be  His 
messengers.  The  wise  men  would  come  later,  but  now  it  was 
the  shepherds  who  first  knew  of  the  birth  of  Christ  the  Lord. 
He  was  not  reading  as  was  his  wont.  It  was  all  out  of  his 
heart  and  the  eyes  of  all  seemed  to  be  on  him — of  all  in  pews 
and  of  all  that  innumerable  host  about  him. 

He  was  not  altogether  coherent,  for  he  at  times  appeared 


'don't  you  hear  them   singing?    .     .     .    YOU  MUST  SING  TOO."    .     .    .    BEFORE  THE 
HYMN  WAS  ENDED  THE  OLD  SHEPHERD  JJAD  JOINED  THE  HEAVENLY  CHOIR 


THE  SHEPHERD  \YHO  WATCHED  101 

to  confuse  himself  with  the  shepherds.  He  spoke  as  if  the 
message  had  come  to  him,  and  after  a  while  he  talked  of 
some  experiences  he  had  had  in  finding  a  child  in  a  stable. 
He  spoke  as  though  he  had  really  seen  it.  "And  now,"  he 
said,  "this  old  shepherd  must  leave  his  flock,  the  message  has 
come  for  him." 

He  paused  and  looked  down  at  his  sermon  and  turned  the 
leaves  slowly,  at  first  carefully  and  then  almost  aimlessly. 
A  breath  of  wind  blew  in  and  a  few  leaves  slid  off  the  desk 
and  fluttered  down  to  the  floor.  "I  have  been  in  some  fear 
lately,"  he  said,  "but  God  has  appeared  to  make  the  way 
plain.  A  friend  has  helped  me,  and  I  thank  him."  He  looked 
around  and  lost  himself.  "I  seem  to  have  to  come  to  the 
end,"  he  said,  smiling  simply  with  a  soft,  childish  expression 
stealing  over  and  lighting  up  his  wan  face.  "I  had  some- 
thing more  I  wanted  to  say,  but  I  can't  find  it  and — I  can't 
remember.  I  seem  too  tired  to  remember  it.  I  am  a  very 
old  man  and  you  must  bear  with  me,  please,  while  I  try."  He 
quietly  turned  and  walked  down  the  steps,  holding  on  to  the 
railing.  As  he  stooped  to  pick  up  a  loose  sheet  from  the 
floor  he  sank  to  his  knees,  but  he  picked  it  up.  "Here  it  is," 
he  said  with  a  tone  of  relief.  "I  remember  now.  It  is  that 
there  were  shepherds  abiding  in  the  fields,  keeping  watch  over 
their  flocks  by  night,  and  the  light  came  upon  them  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  shone  round  about  them  and  they  were  sore 
afraid,  and  the  Angel  said  unto  them: 

"'Fear  not:  for  behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great 
joy,  wliich  shall  be  to  all  people.  For  unto  you  is  born 
this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the 
Lord:  " 

They  reached  him  as  he  sank  down  and,  lifting  him,  placed 
him  on  a  cushion  taken  from  a  pew.  He  was  babbling  softly 
of  a  babe  in  a  stable  and  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  that  shone 
round  about  them.  "Don't  you  hear  them  singing  ?"  he  said. 
"You  must  sing  too;  we  must  all  join  them."  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  some  one,  a  woman's  clear  voice  struck  up,  "While 
shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by  night,"  and  they  sang  it 
through  as  well  as  they  could  for  sobbing.  But  before  the 
hymn  was  ended  the  old  shepherd  had  joined  the  heavenly 
choir  and  gone  away  up  into  Heaven. 

As  they  laid  him  in  the  chamber  on  the  hill  opening  to 


102  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

the  sunrise,  the  look  in  his  face  showed  that  the  name  of 
that  chamber  was  Peace. 

They  talk  of  him  still  in  his  old  parish,  of  the  good  he  did, 
and  of  liis  peaceful  death  on  the  day  that  of  all  the  year  sig- 
nified birth  and  life.  Nothing  was  ever  known  of  the  mother 
and  babe.  Only  there  was  a  rumor  that  one  had  been  seen 
leaving  the  house  during  the  morning  and  passing  out  into 
the  white-clad  country.  And  at  the  little  inn  in  the  town 
there  was  vague  wonder  what  had  become  of  the  woman  and 
her  baby  who  applied  for  shelter  there  that  night  before  and 
was  told  that  there  was  no  place  for  her  there,  and  that  she 
had  better  go  to  the  old  preacher,  as  he  took  in  all  the  tramps. 


THE  VILLAGE  CLERGYMAN 
Goldsmith 

'A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  dear, 

And  passing  rich  with  forty  pounds  a  year; 

Remote  from  towns  he  ran  his  godly  race, 

Nor  e'er  had  changed,  nor  wished  to  change  his  place; 

Unpracticed  he  to  fawn,  or  seek  for  power, 

By  doctrines  fashioned  to  the  varying  hour, 

For  other  aims  his  heart  had  learned  to  prize, 

More  skilled  to  raise  the  wretched  than  to  rise. 

'His  house  was  known  to  all  the  vagrant  train, 

He  chid  their  wanderings,  but  relieved  their  pain; 

Careless  their  merits  or  their  faults  to  scan, 

His  pity  gave  ere  charity  began. 

Thus  to  relieve  the  wretched  was  his  pride. 

And  e'en  his  failings  leaned  to  virtue's  side; 

But  in  his  duty,  prompt  at  every  call. 

He  watched  and  wept,  he  prayed  and  felt  for  all; 

And,  as  a  bird  each  fond  endearment  tries 

To  tempt  its  new-fledged  offspring  to  the  skies, 

He  tried  each  art,  reproved  each  dull  delay. 

Allured  to  brighter  worlds,  and  led  the  way. 

'At  church,  with  meek  and  unaffected  grace, 
His  looks  adorned  the  venerable  place; 
Truth  from  his  lips  prevailed  with  double  sway, 
And  fools,  who  came  to  scoff,  remained  to  pray. 
E'en  children  followed,  with  endearing  wile. 
And  plucked  his  gown,  to  share  the  good  man's  smile. 
His  ready  smile  a  parent's  warmth  expressed, 
Their  welfare  pleased  him,  and  their  cares  distressed; 
To  them  his  heart,  his  love,  his  griefs  were  given. 
But  all  his  serious  thoughts  had  rest  in  heaven." 


SHOULD  MINISTERS 
MARRY? 

MARION  HARLAND 

Copyright,  1913,  by  The  Continent 
Reprinted  by  Permission 


Paul,  the  itinerant  missionary,  contends  stoutly  for  his 
right  to  lead  about  a  wife  (inferentially,  if  it  should  please 
him  so  to  do),  quoting  in  his  support  of  the  claim  the  ex- 
ample of  Cephas,  etc.  That  the  right  was  admitted  without 
cavil  in  the  early  church  we  gather  from  further  remarks 
relative  to  the  wives  of  bishops  and  deacons. 

Martin  Luther  gave  unequivocal  testimony  to  his  views 
upon  the  subject  of  a  married  clergy  by  wedding  a  nun  who 
had,  like  himself,  abjured  the  conventual  life.  From  that  day 
onward  the  theory  of  the  protesting  Church  has  not  wavered 
with  respect  to  the  right  and  practice.  Suggestions  from 
irresponsible  sources  to  the  effect  that  he  wars  most  effectively 
who  carries  light  impedimenta  are  frowned  down  when 
directed  churchward.  An  unwritten  law  encourages,  if  it 
does  not  enjoin  upon,  the  young  minister  to  take  unto  him- 
self a  wife  betimes  as  part  of  his  equipment  for  the  home  or 
foreign  field. 

The  consensus  of  parish  or  community  is  that  the  min- 
istry of  reconciliation — the  noblest  of  what  are  classed  as  the 
"learned  professions" — is  involved  with  social  and  domestic 
obligations  that  pertain  to  no  other  calling.  For  the  right 
discharge  of  these,  we  are  informed  by  the  Church  at  large 
and  by  individual  members,  a  married  man  is  better  fitted 
than  a  bachelor.  The  minister's  wife  is  his  helpmeet  in  an 
especially  sacred  sense.  The  Christian  home  ruled  by  the 
united  twain  is  an  object  lesson  no  congregation  should  lack. 

A  FINE  THEORY 

So  far,  so  fair !  From  the  Protestant  viewpoint  the  theory 
is  flawless,  the  world  and  human  nature  being  not  many  de- 
grees from  the  status  of  Paul's  times.    Will  the  reader  who  is 

103 


104  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

supposed  to  be  versed  in  the  Scriptures  bear  with  me  when 
I  ask  him  to  read  as  for  the  first  time  the  advice  in  detail 
given  by  the  chiefest  of  apostles  to  his  "own  son  in  the  faith" 
called  through  his  instrumentality  to  the  bishopric  of 
Ephesus  ? 

A  PERFECT  PARSON 

"A  bishop,  then,  must  be  blameless,  the  husband  of  one 
wife,  vigilant,  sober,  of  good  behavior,  given  to  hospitality, 
apt  to  teach;  not  given  to  wine;  no  striker;  not  greedy  of 
filthy  lucre,  but  patient;  not  a  brawler;  not  covetous;  one 
that  ruleth  well  his  own  house,  having  his  children  in  sul)- 
jection  with  all  gravity  (for  if  a  man  know  not  how  to  rule 
his  own  house,  how  shall  he  take  care  of  the  house  of  God?). 
Not  a  novice,  lest  being  lifted  up  with  pride  he  fall  into 
condemnation  of  the  devil.  Moreover,  he  must  have  a  good 
report  of  them  which  are  without,  lest  he  fall  into  reproach 
and  the  snare  of  the  devil." 

The  whole  epistle  is  a  masterpiece  of  sound  common-sen- 
sible counsel,  informed  with  paternal  tenderness.  Student  and 
licentiate  of  the  twentieth  century  can  find  nowhere  a  better 
manual  of  faith  and  practice.  Yet  we  catch  ourselves  specu- 
lating as  to  the  probabilities  of  Timothy's  marriage.  There 
is  no  fatherly  word  for  the  bride  among  the  greetings  to 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  and  other  friends  in  the  second  letter. 

However  this  may  have  been,  the  picture  of  the  well  or- 
dered parsonage  and  the  portrait  of  the  master  thereof  have 
not  been  improved  upon  by  modern  writers  upon  clerical  life 
and  clerical  manners.     Happy  is  that  parish  that  hath  such ! 

MUZZLING  THE  OX 

We  have  no  allusion  to  the  high  price  of  foodstuffs  in 
Ephesus,  yet  practical  Paul  does  not  omit  the  truth  that 
human  life  requires  material  sustenance.  Harking  back, 
once  and  again,  to  the  Mosaic  injunction,  "Thou  shalt  not 
muzzle  the  ox  when  he  treadeth  out  the  corn,"  he  declares 
plainly :  "The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,"  and  "They 
which  preach  the  gospel  shall  live  by  the  gospel."  Lest  there 
may  be  some  misapprehension  as  to  the  source  from  whence 
this  same  "living"  is  to  come,  we  are  admonished  in  another 
epistle:  "Let  him  that  is  taught  in  the  word  communicate 
to  him  that  teacheth  in  all  good  things." 


SHOULD  MINISTERS  MARRY?  105 

Why  multiply  texts  to  prove  what  is  theoretically  a  fore- 
gone conclusion?  The  obligation  of  the  Church  to  provide 
for  those  who  minister  unto  them  in  holy  things  has  been 
recognized  in  all  ages.  The  right  of  the  minister  to  marry 
is  as  frankly  acknowledged.  In  a  majority  of  churches  the 
expediency  of  his  marriage  is  openly  urged.  Almost  as  bind- 
ing in  civilized  communities  is  the  demand  that  the  pastor 
shall  be  an  educated  gentleman,  and  his  wife  a  woman  of  cul- 
ture and  refinement.  Paul  sets  the  pace  here,  too.  "He  must 
have  a  good  report  of  them  which  are  without.^^  The  parish 
must  never  be  ashamed  of  him  or  his  family.  Have  you  ever 
thought  of  the  deep  meaning  wrapped  up  in  the  phrase 
"given  to  hospitality"?  We  express  it  in  part  when  we  say 
that  "the  minister  keeps  an  open  house." 

A  MIRACLE  OF  GRACE 

To  condense  the  requisitions :  He  must  live  in  a  house  large 
enough  to  accommodate  wayfaring  brethren  and  their  fam- 
ilies; to  entertain  church  societies  and  "delegates."  He  must 
set  a  decent  table ;  his  children  must  be  as  well  clad  as  their 
playfellows  and  attend  good  schools.  The  parsonage  is  a  city 
set  on  a  hill,  and  the  walls  might  be  of  glass,  so  open  to  the 
eye  of  all  men  and  women  are  the  movements  and  manners 
of  the  inmates. 

Yet  let  me  quote  from  a  paper  issued  by  the  church  sus- 
tentation  society  of  a  leading  denomination  in  America  and 
abroad : 

"Every  minister  who  is  duly  installed  over  a  church  and 
congregation  of  our  communion  is  promised  a  ^competent 
worldly  maintenance  that  he  may  be  free  from  worldly  cares 
and  avocations." "  It  is  significant  tliat  the  word  "avoca- 
tions" is  used  in  its  legitimate  meaning:  "The  act  of  calling 
aside,  or  diverting  from  one's  proper  calling  or  business." 

EIGHT  HOURS  AND  OVERTIME 

"The  competent  worldly  maintenance"  is  to  secure  all  the 
energies  and  time  of  the  laborer  for  the  vineyard  he  is  hired 
to  tend.  Your  mill  hand  "knocks  off"  your  work  at  5  or  6 
o'clock,  and  if  he  be  a  wide-awake  fellow,  he  turns  many  an 
honest  penny  during  the  evenings  and  half  holidays.  The 
bookkeeper  may,  without  let  or  hindrance,  write  up   other 


106  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

ledgers  than  your  own  at  home.  There  are  scores  of  ways 
by  which  the  professed  hireling  may  eke  out  his  wages.  Phy- 
sicians, lawyers  and  merchants  ask  nobody's  permission  as  to 
the  employment  of  their  spare  hours.  "One  man,  in  his  tune, 
plays  many  parts" — and  perchance  quadruples  his  income, 
but  our  ordained  and  installed  Ixion  is  bound  to  the  wheel 
of  his  "sacred  office''  until  his  "period  of  usefulness  is  at  an 
end."     (0,  familiar  and  fateful  phrase!) 

^Ye  have,  then,  a  finely  tempered  instrument  of  the  most 
approved  pattern,  which  is  not  to  be  diverted  to  any  use  other 
than  that  designated  in  the  contract.  The  natural  sequence 
would  seem  to  be  that  a  fair  and  equitable  price  should  be 
paid  for  it.  In  reply,  I  append  the  comment  of  another 
writer  upon  this  topic :  "There  is  bitter  humor  in  the  Torm 
of  Government'  just  quoted  when  the  ^competent  worldly 
maintenance'  is  a  third  less  than  a  mechanic's  wage." 


b'' 


NEARING  THE  BREAD  LINE 

The  bitterness  is  made  pungent  and  the  humor  of  the  situ- 
ation lessened  by  the  statement  drawn  from  the  circular  letter 
put  forth  by  the  secretary  of  a  ministerial  relief  association 
connected  with  an  influential  and,  in  the  main,  wealthy  com- 
munion: "The  average  salary  paid  to  our  ministers  in  the 
active  pastorate  is  $600  per  annum." 

Of  course  he  cannot  support  life  upon  that  unless  he  be  a 
bachelor  and  his  residence  be  in  a  mining  camp  or  a  moun- 
tain region  where  the  barest  necessaries  of  life  must  suffice  to 
supply  his  wants.  If  a  family  man  must  get  along  upon  less 
than  a  mechanic's  wage,  he  is  helped  out  by  donation  parties 
and  occasional  boxes  of  cast-off  clothing  from  richer  churches. 
In  plain  English,  he  and  his  are  paupers  as  essentially  as  if 
they  were  lodged  in  the  almshouse.  Said  a  rich  woman  to  me 
with  the  air  of  one  who,  by  her  deeds  of  mercy,  makes  her 
calling  and  election  sure:  "I  always  give  liberally  to  the 
Church  and  other  worthy  charities.  You  know,  'Whoso 
giveth  to  the  poor  lendeth  to  the  Lord.'  As  I  often  say  to  my 
husband,  'We  cannot  ask  better  security.' " 

"Church  and  other  charities!"  That  is  oftener  the  tone 
of  the  rank  and  file  of  Protestant  Church  members  than  we 
are  willing  to  admit.  All  that  they  contribute  to  the  pastor's 
support  over  and  above  the  meager  stipend  we  have  indicated 


SHOULD  MINISTERS  MARRY?  107 

is  set  clown  to  the  Lord's  account — and  on  the  debit  side  of 
the  sheet.  Interest  is  compounded  according  to  a  system 
patented  by  themselves. 

LAGGING  BEHIND  THE  WORLD 

Philanthropists  write  and  declaim  from  the  rostrum 
against  the  peiiuriousness  of  a  government  that  pays  its 
armed  defenders  a  "beggarly  pittan'ce."  The  soldier  grumbles 
less  loudly  in  the  knowledge  that  half  pay  awaits  him  at  the 
close  of  his  term  of  service  and  a  pension  for  his  family  at 
his  death.  Our  minister  may  be  turned  out  of  office  many 
years  earlier  than  his  blue-coated  brother,  and  absolutely 
penniless  so  far  as  any  provision  made  by  the  Church  goes. 
By  sailing  closely  to  the  wind  he  may  have  kept  his  family 
in  food  and  clothes.  He  has  not  been  able  to  save  a  dollar 
even  from  the  stray  checks  and  greenbacks  doled  out  to  him 
patronizingly  by  friend  and  parishioner.  In  his  most  pros- 
perous estate,  he  and  his  thrifty  helpmeet  have  achieved  only 
shabby  gentility.  For  the  remainder  of  their  days  they  dro]3 
the  tattered  cloak  of  gentility  and  settle  down  to  the  unequiv- 
ocal squalor  of  confessed  poverty.  And  this  at  an  age  when 
his  college  mates  are  touring  the  continent  in  their  motor 
cars  and  eating  the  plum  cake  of  carelessness ! 

Do  not  plead  that  the  Church,  as  a  whole,  is  ignorant  of 
the  enormity  of  this  injustice.  The  Church  does  not  concern 
itself  with  improvident  families  unless  they  belong  to  the 
"interesting  poor'' — the  class  for  which  we  build  settlement 
houses  and  association  halls  and  welfare  work  homes. 

FOR  LOVE  OR  MONEY 
If  poor  young  ministers  will  marry  poor  girls  they  must 
take  what  is  coming  to  the  educated  improvident.  After  all, 
the  outspoken  old  minister  was  not  so  far  wrong  as  we  are 
inclined  to  think — or  say — who  advised  the  graduating  class 
of  theologues  to  pick  out  wives  who  are  "pious  and  have  a 
little  property."  It  is  fast  becoming  fashionable  to  deprecate 
the  marriage  of  ministers  who  have  nothing  but  their  salaries 
to  depend  upon.  Careful  students  of  varied  economies  do  not 
hesitate  to  point  out  the  superior  efficiency  of  Roman  Catholic 
missionaries,  and  to  attribute  their  success  to  their  celibacy. 
There  is  no  disguising  the  fact  that  wives  and  children  are 


108  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

impedimenta  that  cannot  be  cast  aside  when  duty  calls  to 
another  field.  These  are  spokesmen  whose  deliverances  are 
not  indorsed  by  the  Church.  On  the  contrary,  we  still  swear 
audibly  by  Paul  and  content  our  consciences  with  spasmodic 
relief  of  suffering  consequent  upon  ill-advised  wedlock.  Is  it 
possible  that  underlying  the  apparent  apathy  lurks  the  belief 
that  more  and  better  work  is  accomplished  by  the  celibate 
than  by  the  married  minister?  That,  instead  of  overt  advo- 
cacy of  a  tenet  that  might  scandalize  oldtime  Christians  and 
cause  the  enemy  to  blaspheme,  we  foresee  that  the  end  will  be 
as  surely  gained  by  slow  starvation? 

MUSIC  AND  MINISTRY 

Before  I,  who  write  thus,  am  accused  of  treason  to  my  faith 
and  Church,  look  the  "ugly  facts  square  in  the  face  and  say 
upon  \y]rat  other  hypothesis  they  may  be  explained  away. 
Protestants  are  not  niggardly  in  other  directions.  There  is 
hardly  a  church  in  any  city  that  does  not  expend  more  upon 
music  in  one  year  than  it  subscribes  in  three  years  for  "min- 
isterial relief  and  the  ministers^  widows'  fund."  A  single 
memorial  window  that  is  criticized  as  a  blotch  upon  the  wall 
of  the  sanctuary  costs  treble  the  sum  asked  for  by  the  incum- 
bent who  demurs  m  spirit  at  the  task  of  soliciting  funds  for 
the  "sustentation"  of  his  needy  brethren.  May  be  because 
an  echo  of  the  old  epitaph  sounds  through  the  chambers  of  his 
soul :  "As  we  are  now,  so  must  you  be !'' 

Denis  Wortman,  D.D.,  the  able  secretary  of  the  Society  for 
Ministerial  Relief  of  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  in  Amer- 
ica, has  a  pertinent  and  feeling  word  upon  the  unwillingness 
of  the  clergyman  to  press  home  upon  the  hearts  of  his  hearers 
the  plain  truth  of  the  attitude  of  the  Church  upon  this  sub- 
ject: "Do  you  know  that  it  does  grind  upon  us  to  be  asking 
help  for  men  in  our  own  profession  ?  It  seems  to  humiliate ! 
It  seems  to  lower  the  dignity  of  the  ministry !  Possibly  with 
some  it  seems  to  bring  our  sacred  calling  into  contempt.  AVe 
are  exposing  poverties  many  of  our  clergy  are  painfully  en- 
deavoring to  conceal  for  the  Master's  sake." 

EARLY  RETIREMENT 

From  a  report  compiled  by  the  same  writer,  I  quote :  "The 
number  of  annuitants  increases  from  year  to  year,  and  will 


SHOULD  MimSTEES  MARRY?  109 

continue  to  do  so  with  increase  of  prices  of  living  and  the 
earlier  retirement  of  ministers  from  active  service." 

There  is  pregnant  meaning  in  that  last  clause.  It  is  set 
forth,  without  apology  for  the  bald  statement,  in  a  govern- 
ment report  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Education.  It  is' headed 
boldly  by  the  journal  copying  the  report:  "Number  Who 
Seek  Protestant  Pulpits  Constantly  Decreasing.  A  remark- 
able decrease  in  the  numl)er  of  Protestant  ministers  gradu- 
ated from  the  universities  of  the  country  is  shown  in  a  cur- 
rent report  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education. 

"It  is  plain,  says  the  report,  that  educated  men  no  longer 
seek  the  cloth  as  they  did  when  the  nation  was  younger.  It 
may  mean  much  or  little  that  the  percentage  of  ministers 
among  the  graduates  of  typical  colleges  has  declined  from  a 
proportion  of  sixty  or  seventy  per  cent  to  less  than  ten  per 
cent.  An  examination  of  the  figures  collected  at  the  close 
of  the  nineteenth  century  from  thirty-seven  representative 
colleges  discloses  the  fact  that  the  ministry  takes  between 
five  and  six  per  cent  of  the  university  graduates,  which  marks 
the  lowest  point  for  that  profession  during  the  two  and  one 
half  centuries  of  American  college  history." 

Put  side  by  side  with  these  statements  the  certainty  that 
the  decrease  in  the  number  of  candidates  for  work  in  a  fast 
widening  field,  white  for  the  harvest,  is  as  well  known  to  the 
aforesaid  Protestant  Church  as  the  simplest  fact  in  natural 
history,  and  that  it  does  not  incite  it  to  amendment  of  the 
wrong  which  has  brought  it  about — what  deduction  can  be 
drawn  from  such  knowledge  and  apathy?  As  a  body,  the 
Church  is  determined  not  to  maintain  married  men  in  the 
ministry.  Actions,  more  eloquent  than  protestations,  give 
the  lie  to  the  professed  approval  of  home  sketched  by  Paul 
and  nominally  indorsed  by  professors  of  the  Protestant  faith. 

CROWNED  WITH  CARE 

It  is  a  favorite  trick  of  business  and  political  organizations 
to  "freeze  out"  unpopular  members  rather  than  eject  them 
openly.  A  Church  that  affects  to  condemn  papal  principles 
and  usages  is  quietly  freezing  out  the  married  clergy  in  its 
own  faith.  Without  abating  one  jot  or  one  tittle  of  belief  in 
the  obligation  to  spread  the  gospel  of  salvation  to  earth's 
remotest  bounds,  we  insist,  practically,  that  such  work  must 


110  THE  EETIEED  MINISTEK 

be  clone  by  a  man  who  is  willing  to  resign  the  joys  of  home, 
the  companionship  of  wife  and  child,  and  to  bring  personal 
requirements  down  to  hermit  fare  and  squatter's  hut,  while 
he  is  adjudged  capable  of  discharging  "acceptably"  the  duties 
of  the  sacred  office.  It  has  passed  into  a  proverb  that  the 
pastor  crosses  the  dead  line  at  fifty.  His  hoary  head  is  dis- 
grace and  displacement  instead  of  glory. 

RESIGNATION  OE  WHAT 

"We  kinder  lost  our  relish  for  our  preacher,"  said  the  dea- 
con of  a  colored  church,  "so  we  done  sent  in  his  resignation." 
The  same  is  done  in  effect  yearly  in  hundreds  of  Protestant 
churches  made  up  of  his  superiors  in  race  and  education. 
Freezing  him  out  is  equivalent  to  sending  in  his  resignation. 
If  he  be  celibate,  he  may  have  taken  out  a  "limited  insurance 
policy"  upon  his  life  and  scraped  together  the  premium  year 
by  year.  He  has  timed  it  to  fall  due  at  fifty,  or  thereal)outs, 
and  (if  he  be  single)  he  may  have  enough  to  keep  the  life  in 
him  for  the  rest  of  his  weary,  because  idle,  days. 

The  tale  is  trite,  but  none  the  less  pitiful  because  it  is  so 
often  told.  Sensational  newspapers  set  "scareheads"  a'oove 
announcements  of  the  rapidly  thinning  ranks  of  the  Church 
militant.  The  Church  is  itself  apparently  content  to  let  the 
logic  of  events  demonstrate  the  necessity  of  a  celibate  clergy, 
if  the  evangelization  of  the  world  is  to  go  on. 


NATIONAL  MONUMENTS 
Henry  van  Dyke 

Count  not  the  cost  of  honor  to  the  dead!   ^ 
The  tribute  that  a  mighty  nation  pays 
To  those  who  loved  her  well  in  former  days 

Means  more  than  gratitude  for  glories  fled; 

For  every  noble  man  that  she  hath  bred, 
Immortalized  by  art's  immortal  praise. 
Lives  in  the  bronze  and  marble  tliat  we  raise, 

To  lead  our  sons  as  he  our  fathers  led. 

These  monuments  of  manhood,  brave  and  high. 
Do  more  than  forts  or  battle  ships  to  keep 

Our  dear-bought  liberty.     They  fortify 

The  heart  of  youth  with  valor  wise  and  deep; 

They  build  eternal  bulwarks  and  command 

Eternal  strength  to  guard  our  native  land. 


NOT  CHARITY  BUT 
JUSTICE 

RETIRING  PENSIONS  AND 
ORGANIZED  CHRISTIANITY 

BISHOP 
RICHARD  J.  COOKE,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


I  have  been  a  Gospel  Minister  for  forty  years  and  know 
the  hardships  of  the  itinerant's  life.  After  I  had  been 
preaching  for  thirty  years,  if  anything  had  happened  to  me 
there  would  not  have  been  a  roof  to  cover  my  wife  and  chil- 
dren. I  worked  for  small  pay,  and  on  my  first  circuit,  which 
was  nearly  one  hundred  miles  long  and  as  wide  as  I  cared  to 
make  it,  my  horse  died  in  the  cotton  field,  and  I  walked.  We 
had  no  members  and  I  had  to  make  them,  and  received  as 
salary  fifty  dollars  and  a  pair  of  socks.  I  do  not  need  to 
have  my  sympathies  stirred ;  memory  will  do  that  for  me. 

I  would  change  the  emphasis  in  pleading  for  the  Retired 
Ministers  from  charity  to  justice.  The  provisions  for  their 
comfort  are  now  placed  upon  the  ground  of  support,  though 
for  a  long  time  it  was  put  on  the  ground  of  charity;  an 
appeal  which  Preachers  learned  to  scorn.  What  the  Retired 
Ministers  need  is  not  charity,  but  justice. 

I  would  go  further  and  say  that  it  is  not  so  much  a  ques- 
tion of  the  support  of  the  ministry  as  it  is  a  question  of  the 
maintenance  of  organized  religion.  When  you  sift  it  down 
to  the  real  basis  of  the  proposition,  this  will  stand  out  clearly 
to  every  thinker  who  studies  the  processes  and  workings  of 
social  forces.  The  question  of  a  dependable  pension  for  Re- 
tired Ministers  concerns  the  permanence  of  organized  religion. 

It  is  a  platitude  that  there  never  was  an  age  lilve  tliis;  but 
it  is  a  tremendous  platitude.  There  never  was  an  age  when 
so  much  was  required  of  human  brain  and  nerves  and  energy 
as  is  required  to-day.  There  never  was  a  time  when  there 
was  such  a  demand  for  men  of  brains  and  parts  and  power 
and  energy  and  efficiency;  resourceful  men,  men  who  are 
never  defeated;  men  of  quality,  ability  and  power;  men  of 
thought  and  of  vision.     The  whole  world  is  flung  wide  open 

111 


112  THE  EETIKED  MINISTER 

to  the  man  who  has  energy,  thought  and  insight ;  who  neither 
sees  ghosts  nor  fears  the  lions  in  the  way,  but  goes  straight- 
forward; who  when  difficulties  are  in  the  way  makes  himself 
difficult  to  the  difficulties.  Vast  fortunes  are  being  made,  and 
vast  oj^portunities  are  offered  in  every  line.  No  department 
of  human  thought  or  activity  is  shut  to  men  of  brains  and 
power.  To-day  demands  in  our  civil  governments  and  national 
Congress  men  of  prophetic  power — not  mere  politicians,  men 
who  can  get  elected  merely,  but  men  with  prophetic  vision, 
who  study  the  ongoings  of  Divine  Providence  and  the  play 
of  the  social,  political,  national  and  international  forces ;  who 
study  humanity,  and  think  and  plan  for  humanity.  Such  is 
the  growth  of  government  and  intelligence,  and  such  are  the 
demands  on  the  human  spirit,  that  nobody  to-day  can  aspire 
to  national  fame  or  to  be  a  statesman,  who  does  not  have 
keen  perceptions  of  the  mighty  movements  of  humanity  and 
who  is  unable  to  adjust  human  laws  and  forces  to  events  which 
will  as  surely  happen  as  that  the  stars  will  roll  in  their  orbits. 
Not  only  in  politics,  national  and  international,  and  in 
great  industrial  enterprises  and  constructive  schemes;  in 
great  affairs  relating  to  the  reclamation  of  lands,  the  tunnel- 
ing of  mountains,  the  building  of  railroads,  and  the  bridging 
of  streams,  but  also  in  the  Christian  Ministry  men  of  the 
largest  ability  are  required.  There  never  was  a  time  when 
there  was  such  a  demand  for  men  of  the  highest  ability  in 
the  pulpit  of  the  living  God  as  this  very  day,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  this  day  is  like  no  other  day.  There  never  was 
a  time  when  there  were  so  many  school-houses,  colleges  and 
great  universities,  or  such  great  teachers  in  them;  and  there 
never  was  a  time  when  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  all  the 
ages  was  so  concentrated  in  institutions  of  original  research, 
scientific  and  sociological,  concerning  everything  that  per- 
tains to  the  human  spirit  and  the  growth  and  development  of 
humanity.  Your  children  and  the  children  of  the  people  to 
whom  you  preach  are  in  the  public  schools,  which,  by  reason 
of  their  development  under  the  care  of  scientific  men,  are 
equal  to  the  first  class  colleges  of  thirty  years  ago.  These 
young  people  are  getting  ready  for  world  ventures.  Their 
minds  have  been  opened,  and  throb  with  tremendous  energy 
as  they  go  out  to  the  work  that  is  before  them.  If  they  go  to 
the  Churcli  of  God,  and,  instead  of  finding  a  man  of  brains. 


NOT  CHARITY  BUT  JUSTICE  113 

who  has  a  grip  on  tilings  and  himself,  a  man  as  equal  to  his 
place  as  a  preacher  as  the  teacher,  scientist  and  statesman  are 
to  theirs,  they  find  a  man  who  is  not  able  to  lead  them  any- 
where, one  who  had  no  outlook,  no  teaching  nor  informing 
power,  no  inspiring  or  uplifting  vision,  and  not  a  single  cell 
in  heart,  soul,  mind  and  spirit  vibrating  by  the  vivid  truth 
which  he  proclaims,  where  in  a  short  time  will  these  young 
people  be,  and  where  will  the  Church  be  ? 

The  Church  says  to  the  young  man  coming  out  of  her 
schools  and  colleges,  and  beginning  the  ministerial  life,  "You 
will  have  a  small  salary  compared  with  what  you  can  earn. 
You  have  ability  to  go  into  civil  engineering,  or  medicine  or 
jurisprudence,  or  into  large  industrial  enterprises  and  prosper ; 
but  as  a  Minister  of  Jesus  Christ  there  will  be  but  a  pittance 
for  you  throughout  your  life.  The  time  will  come  when  your 
wife  will  walk  timidly  and  humbly  down  the  aisle  and  quickly 
draw  her  poor,  faded  skirts  into  the  pew  lest  people  should 
see  how  shabbily  she  is  dressed,  her  womanly  instinct  revolt- 
ing at  the  difference  she  feels  in  her  sensitive  nature  between 
her  clothing  and  that  of  the  women  of  the  parish.  Your 
little  girl  will  be  comparing  her  clothes  with  the  nicely  em- 
broidered dresses  of  the  little  girls  at  their  side,  and  your 
little  boy  will  look  at  his  thick  shoes  and  compare  them  with 
the  soft  kid  of  the  little  boy  next  door ;  and  you  will  live  that 
sort  of  a  life  not  because  you  are  not  the  peer  of  their  fathers 
in  intelligence  or  capacity,  but  because  you  cannot  compete 
financially  with  the  men  who  are  doing  the  larger  material 
things  in  life.  In  college  perhaps  you  hobnobbed  with  these 
fellows  on  the  terms  of  intellectual  and  social  equality,  but 
you  find  yourself  as  a  Minister  stinted  in  income,  and  at  the 
end  of  your  active  life  what  prospects  have  you  for  peace, 
comfort  and  satisfaction  when  the  clay^s  work  is  done  and  you 
shall  sit  down  in  the  twilight  to  look  into  the  long  unknown  ?" 

In  the  presence  of  such  questions  how  many  men  of  brains, 
power  and  energy  are  going  to  sacrifice  themselves  to  that 
kind  of  life  ?  And  then  how  will  the  Church  of  God  be  able 
to  adjust  itself  to  meet  the  religious  problems  of  to-morrow, 
and  to  relate  itself  to  the  scientific  revelations  which  lie  ahead 
of  us?  And  how  can  the  Church  relate  itself  to  the  philo- 
sopliic  outcome  of  the  human  spirit  produced  by  the  cultural 
forces?     IIow  can  the   Cliurch  become  the  great  leader  of 


IM  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

humanity  and  set  the  tune  for  the  world  to  sing  by  unless 
she  has  preachers  who  can  pitch  the  key  and  command  the 
respect  and  reverence  of  men  who  come  out  of  great  institu- 
tions into  our  churches?  The  result  Avill  be  that  your  chil- 
dren will  lose  res})ect  for  the  Church  and  its  leadership  and 
scholarship  and  spirit,  and  will  turn  aside  to  other  agencies 
which  minister  to  the  spirit,  in  order  to  develop  the  cul- 
tural content  of  their  inner  life. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  in  the  conflict  between  the 
Church  of  Rome  and  the  French  Legislature,  this  strange 
thing  happened,  that  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  aris- 
tocracy of  France  supported  the  Church  with  the  prestige  of 
their  names  and  gave  their  money,  yet  they  failed  to  put  their 
sons  into  the  Ministry,  which  was  recruited  from  the  peasants 
of  Brittany  and  southern  France.  AVhat  was  the  result? 
The  time  came  when  the  Church  was  face  to  face  with  con- 
ditions which  the  thinkers  of  the  nineteenth  century  had 
produced.  Renan  had  done  his  work  throughout  France,  and 
the  works  of  the  English  philosophers  and  of  the  German 
Strauss  had  been  translated  into  French,  and  had  become  the 
common  ^Droperty  of  the  intellectual  men  of  France;  and  in 
the  Senate  there  were  the  sharp,  incisive,  scientifically  trained 
skeptic,  the  enemy  of  the  Church,  and  the  keen-witted,  sar- 
castic politician,  both  pointing  the  finger  of  scorn  and  blurting 
with  sarcastic  tongues,  while  the  Church  stood  like  a  fat  ox, 
helpless  under  the  fatal  blows.  The  Church  that  quivered 
under  the  thunder  of  the  Christless  statesman  of  France  had 
not  a  single  soul  of  power  and  ability  who  in  the  hour  of 
Rome^s  night  was  able  to  stand  up  and  defend  the  Church 
of  his  fathers;  and  down  she  w^ent  under  the  scorn  and  con- 
tempt of  the  nation,  separated  forever  from  the  life  of  the 
nation,  because  there  was  nobody  to  compete  with  those  men 
on  the  "Left,^'  nobody  to  answer  their  arguments,  no  one 
scientifically  trained,  no  one  with  the  world  view,  no  one  who 
had  been  bred  in  the  modem  atmosphere,  no  one  able  to  cope 
with  them  in  oratory  or  thought  or  influence.  So  in  the  long 
run,  unless  we  get  men  of  ability  and  culture  and  provide 
that  such  men  shall  give  all  the  energies  of  their  lives  to  the 
Church,  the  time  will  come  when  Protestant  America  will 
find  itself  in  a  tremendous  emergency  with  no  one  able  to 
defend  it  as  it  ouojht  to  be  defended. 


NOT  CHAEITY  BUT  JUSTICE  115 

You  say  that  if  men  be  really  touched  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
they  will  go  into  the  Ministry  of  the  Church;  that  no  man 
will  resist  the  call  of  the  Spirit ;  that  if  the  love  of  Christ  is 
in  his  heart,  the  young  man  will  enter  the  Ministry  ready 
to  sacrifice  himself  for  the  Church.  I  want  to  say  that  there 
are  millions  of  men  who  to-night  would  shed  the  last  drop 
of  blood  for  Jesus  Christ  and  rejoice  in  doing  it,  who  would 
not  crook  their  little  finger  for  a  Church  that  violates  the 
first  principles  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  and  forgets  the 
old  age  or  disabilities  of  its  ministers.  Not  all  good  men  con- 
sider that  this,  that  or  the  other  organization  is  necessary  to 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  you  will  find  them  going  into  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
work,  and  into  various  kinds  of  associational  Christian 
Avork,  without  throwing  themselves  into  the  work  of  the  Min- 
istry. Men  of  brain  and  power  and  culture  and  ability  and 
influence  will  not  find  their  way  in,  if  the  Church  of  God 
starves  them  out,  and  gives  them  no  chance  to  raise  their 
families  as  the  families  next  door  are  raised.  They  will  not 
go  into  the  Church  if  their  boy  will  feel  that  it  is  a  misfortune 
to  him  that  his  father  was  a  Christian  Minister,  and  will 
say,  "I  did  not  have  the  chance  in  the  world  that  you  had, 
nor  your  opportunity  for  education  because  my  father  was  a 
Minister  of  Christ."  The  result  will  be  that  you  will  get 
weaklings  into  the  pulpit,  and  men  who  seek  it  for  a  living. 

The  Church  must  have  preachers  who  will  stand  on  their 
own  feet  and  succeed  on  their  own  merits;  men  who  go  out 
into  the  world  to  preach  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  because  the 
gospel  is  a  power  in  their  oa\ti  lives,  and  the  fire  so  consumes 
them  that  they  must  preach  it;  who  feel,  "Woe  is  me  if  I 
preach  not  the  gospel !''  When  a  man  has  that  in  him  and 
preaches  the  gospel  with  power,  vigor,  strength,  and  convic- 
tion, the  Spirit  of  God  will  honor  him ;  that  is  why  He  abides 
in  His  Church.  We  should  put  this  question  of  a  dependable 
pension  for  Retired  Ministers  before  the  people  everywhere 
because  the  cause  of  religion  and  the  permanence  of  organ- 
ized Christianity  are  at  stake ;  and  when  our  people  grasp  the 
thought  that  it  is  for  the  sake  of  religion  itself  that  we  plan 
great  things  for  the  Eetired  IMinisters,  then  the  Church  will 
continue  the  royal  race  of  prophets  of  God  and  spiritual 
leaders  of  Humanity. 

Portland,  Ore.  Kichakd  J.  Cooke. 


116  THE  IJETJJJED  MJXJSTEH 

WHY  DON'T  YOU  SPEAK  FOR  YOURSELF,  JOHN? 

"Still  John  Alden  wont  on,  unheeding  the  words  of  Priscilla, 
Urging  the  suit  of  his  friend,  explaining,  persuading,  expanding. 
But  as  he  warmed  and  glowed,  in  his  simple  and  eloquent  lan- 
guage, 
Quite  forgetful  of  self,  and  full  of  the  praise  of  his  rival, 
Archly   the   maiden   smiled,   and,   with   eyes   overrunning  with 

laughter. 
Said,  in  a  tremulous  voice,  'Why  don't  you  speak  for  yourself, 
Johnr  " 


0  YE  FORGETFUL  PREACHERS,  pleading  for  schools 
and  colleges,  for  Missions  and  hospitals — for  black  men  and 
yellow  men  and  red  men  and  brown  men — ministers  whose 
sympathies  go  out  to  the  ends  of  the  earth — composites  of 
John  Baptist,  John  Knox,  John  Calvin,  and  John  Wesley — 
WHY  DON'T  YOU  SPEAK  FOR  YOURSELVES? 

The  income  required  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  Retired 
Ministers  is  not  larcre  enough.  But  it  will  be  large  enough 
just  as  soon  as  the" PASTORS  SPEAK  OUT  WITHOUT 
APOLOGY,  WITHOUT  HESITATION,  WITHOUT 
FALSE  MODESTY. 

Look  at  the  reports  of  your  Connectional  Relief  Boards. 
See  how  Veterans  fared  whose  term  of  service  was  the  same 
as  yours.  Put  yourself  on  the  list;  or  put  your  wife  on  the 
list.  Then  try  to  make  the  mental  adjustments  of  your  life 
and  hers  to  the  condition  of  retirement;  and  see  how  it  will 
clear  your  throat  and  how  your  voice  will  ring  out  in  behalf 
of  your  disabled  brothers  and  sisters. 

You  do  not  hesitate  to  plead  for  China  and  Africa  and 
Korea;  for  Belgium  and  France  and  Germany.  Why  fail 
to  CRY  ALOUD  TO  YOUR  PEOPLE  for  your  own  brothers 
and  sisters  who  received  so  little  for  their  support  last  year  ? 

The  laymen  are  puzzled,  however,  because  preachers  hoarse 
from  shouting  for  the  heathen  can  scarcely  speak  above  a 
whisper  in  behalf  of  the  Retired  Ministers.  Pastors  must 
come  to  self-consciousness  and  self-assertiveness  in  this  their 
own  cause.    Do  a  little  courting  on  your  own  account. 


STOP!  LOOK!  LISTEN 


THE  REV.  JOSEPH  B.  HINGELEY,  D.D. 

Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants 


STOP!— '^ THINK  ON  THESE  THINGS" 

To  eai'iiest-miiuled  Men  and  Women  I  would  speak  earnest, 
personal  words  concerning  the  needs  of  the  Retired  Ministers, 
and  the  widows  and  dependent  orphans  of  deceased  Ministers, 
especially  those  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

1.  No  oilier  cliurcJi  demands  soniucli  of  its  Ministers  and 
their  families.  They  are  not  allowed  to  choose  where  they 
should  go,  or  whom  they  should  serve,  or  what  financial 
support  they  shall  receive.  Surrendering  themselves  wholly 
to  God  and  His  work,  they  not  only  devote  themselves  entirely 
to  His  cause,  hut  devote  all  they  have  or  can  secure.  They 
not  only  preach  the  Gospel  of  Liberty,  but  the  path  to  the 
parsonage  door  is  worn  by  the  feet  of  the  sorrowing  and  the 
needy.  They  not  only  urge  liberality  to  every  good  cause, 
but  "they  are  themselves  examples  of  liberality.  They  are 
royal  givers. 

2.  On  entering  tlie  Ministry  they  tooTc  this  Pledge: 
"To  employ  all  their  time  in  the  Work  of  God." 

"To  be  merciful  for  Christ's  sake  to  Poor  and  Needy 
people  and  to  all  Strangers  destitute  of  help." 

"To  give  themselves  wholly  to  their  Office  and  to  apply 
themselves  to  this  one  thing." 

"To  search  for  the  Sick,  Poor  and  Impotent  that  they  may 
be  visited  and  relieved." 

In  fulfilling  these  Christly  duties  enjoined  l)y  their  Or- 
dination Vows  they  are  not  mere  almoners  of  others'  wealth, 
but  they  draw  on  their  own  slender  purses. 

With  the  scanty  support  our  Aged  Ministers  received  they 
needed  no  exhortation  against  laying  up  treasures  on  earth, 
for  earthly  treasures  were  not  theirs. 

117 


118  THE  I^ETIEED  MINISTER 

3.  I  need  not  remind  you  how  faithful  lliey  were  to  their 
trust.     Your  memory  eiksliriiies  tliom. 

They  were  Friends  of  your  Childhood. 

They  led  you  to  Christ. 

They  sanctified  your  Marriage  Yows. 

They  fought  life's  hardest  battles  at  your  side. 

They  walked  with  you  amid  the  shadows. 

Their  Pra^^ers  lifted  up  as  on  eagle  wings  your  sainted 
Father  and  Mother,  and  brought  smiles  to  the  faces  of  your 
Triumphant  Loved  Ones, 

Their  tears  mingled  with  yours  as  they  fell  on  the  graves 
of  Your  Dead. 

4.  They  ivere  good  business  men,  as  ten  thousand  churches 
and  hundreds  of  Colleges,  Hospitals,  and  Homes  for  the 
poor  and  needy  erected  by  them  show.  BUT  THEIR  BUSI- 
NESS WAS  NOT  TO  MAKE  MONEY.  IT  WAS  TO 
SAYE  AND  MAKE  MAN ;  and  in  doing  this  task  nothing 
was  held  in  reserve — time,  talent,  means. 

While  you  were  growing  rich  on  the  well-earned  increment 
of  your  honest  toil,  and  through  the  increment  of  an  atmos- 
phere and  conditions  which  they  created,  they  were  giving 
themselves  to  you  and  yours.  They  saw  the  country  change 
from  conditions  of  struggle  and  poverty  to  conditions  of 
wealth  and  plenty.  As  the  cost  of  living  increased,  their 
little  stipend  diminished  or  ceased  altogether,  until  they 
now  stand  old,  penniless,  helpless;  with  courage  to  do,  but 
without  strength  to  perform  their  holy  offices. 

Strange  indeed  would  it  be  if  you,  who  owe  so  much  to 
them,  should  leave  them  to  poverty  and  neglect.  Stranger 
still,  if  you  to  whom  these  words  come  should  fail  to  help 
them  in  their  pressing  needs,  or  hesitate  to  strengthen  hands 
which  often  strengthened  you. 

LOOK! 

1.  HOW  MANY  THERE  ARE 

In  7'ound  numhers  there  are 

3,181  Retired  Ministers, 
3,123  Widows  of  Deceased  Ministers, 
285  Orphan  Children. 

A    total    of    6,589    Conference    Claimants    in    whom    the 


STOP!  LOOK!  LISTEN!  119 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church  dcchxres  "the  claim  to  a  com- 
fortable support  rightly  inheres."     (Discipline  If  323.) 

In  addition  to  these  there  are  also  500  Retired  Ministers 
who  relinquished  their  claims  in  the  interests  of  their  less 
favored  brethren. 

This  would  be  a  large  number  of  a  small  Church,  but  it  is 
not  large  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  with  twenty 
thousand  ministers,  three  and  one  half  million  members, 
fifty  million  dollars  annual  expenditure,  and  three  hundred 
millions  of  property. 

Nor  is  it  strange  that  there  should  be  3,200  Retired  Min- 
isters out  of  a  total  20,000 — one  out  of  seven.  A  regiment 
of  soldiers  with  only  fifteen  per  cent  incapacitated  for  duty 
is  unknown  in  days  of  peace;  and  in  time  of  war  scarcely 
one  out  of  two  can  be  brought  to  the  firing  line. 

Cannot  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  places  fifty 
million  dollars  on  God's  altar  each  year,  spare  at  least  two 
millions — a  nickel  out  of  each  dollar — for  the  Veterans  who 
made  it,  and  for  the  Widows  and  Children  of  the  fallen? 

2.  WHAT  DO  THEY  RECEIVE? 

Only  thirteen  Conference  Claimants  receive  more  than 
$500  a  year. 

Only  one  hundred  and  forty  receive  more  tlian  $100. 

Only  five  hundred  receive  more  than  $300. 

Of  the  remaining  six  thousand; 

Twelve  hundred  receive  less  than  $50  each. 

Fifteen  hundred  receive  less  than  $100. 

Thirty-six  hundred  receive  less  than  $200. 

3.  HOW  DOES  THIS  LOOK  TO  YOU? 

If  you  are  not  familiar  with  the  work  that  is  now  being 
done  for  the  Aged  Minister  you  will  be  woefully  discouraged 
and  ashamed.  But  when  you  learn  what  your  brothers  and 
sisters  are  doing  to  better  the  condition  of  the  Retired  ^lin- 
isters,  and  the  widows  and  orphans,  you  will  thank  God  that 
their  condition  has  improved  greatly  since  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  was  organized  in  their  behalf,  and 
they  were  given  a  voice  to  speak  for  them. 

Since  1908  one  liundred  thousand  dollars  has  bcCn  added 


120  TJIK  HETIK^ED  MINISTER 

each  year  to  the  amount  distributed  to  Conference  Claim- 
ants. But  not  until  half  a  million  dollars  more  has  been 
added  to  the  present  annual  distribution  can  a  self-respecting 
Church  join  in  the  Doxology. 

LISTEN! 

^fany  agencies  are  providing  help  for  the  Retired  Min- 
istry: The  Chartered  Fund;  The  Book  Coxceri^;  Annual 
Conference  Funds;  and  direct  contributions  from  the 
churches  which  by  law  goes  to  them. 

But  the  authorized  organization  which  correlates  the  entire 
work  and  conducts  an  inspirational  and  educational  Cam- 
paign in  behalf  of  the  Veteran  Preachers  is  "The  Board 
OF  Conference  Claimants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church/'  now  in  its  fifth  year,  which  has  given  $175,000  to 
needy  cases  and  is  now  creating  a  Connectional  (that  is 
general)  Permanent  Fund  of  $1,000,000;  the  income  of 
which,  together  with  other  moneys  secured  by  the  Board, 
helps  those  Retired  Ministers,  Widows  and  Orphans  every- 
Avhere  whose  needs  are  greatest. 

THE  BOARD  OF  CONFERENCE  CLAIMANTS 

is  the  agent  of  tlie  entire  Cliurcli  in  Ijelialf  of  all  tieedy 
claimants^  without  reference  to  Annual  Conference  bound- 
aries. Its  money  is  first  distributed  to  necessitous  cases 
within  the  bounds  of  the  weaker  Conferences,  and  after- 
ward to  those  within  the  stronger  Conferences.  The  Board 
is  thus  the  great  equalizer  between  the  poorer  and  the  more 
prosperous  fields.  Its  purpose  as  expressed  in  the  Discipline 
is,  that  "A  more  equitable  and  generous  support  may  be 
secured  for  the  Retired  Ministers  and  other  Conference 
Claimants,  especially  for  those  in  the  more  needy  Confer- 
ences." (If  471.)  Conferences  and  churches  cooperate  in 
providing  the  Board  with  money  for  such  distribution,  and 
Methodist  people  everywhere  are  asked  to  become  contrib- 
utors to  the  Connectional  Permanent  Fund  of  the  Board. 

To  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  has  been  given 
not  only  the  duty  of  building  up  and  administering  this  Con- 
nectional Permanent  Fund,  but  also  that  of  "Increasing 
Revenues  for  the  benefit  of  Conference  Claimants." 


STOP!  LOOK!  LISTEN!  121 

The  Board  is  therefore  a  great  inspirational  organization. 
It  publishes  a  quarterly  magazine,  The  Veteran  Preacher; 
it  provides  tracts  for  general  distribution;  it  maintains  a 
valuable  literature  covering  important  phases  of  the  work. 
It  issues  Life  Annuity  Bonds,  and  urges  the  making  of 
Wills  in  favor  of  the  Retired  Preachers  and  Widows. 
Through  its  representatives  it  keeps  in  touch  with  Annual 
Conferences,  and  it  cooperates  in  every  possible  way  with 
all  agencies  employed  by  the  Church  to  advance  the  cause 
of  the  Eetired  Ministry. 

The  Connectional  (or  general)  Permanent  Fund  is  for 
perpetual  investments,  the  income  only  being  used  to  help 
those  Claimants  who  are  in  the  greatest  need.  The  General 
Conference  authorized  the  ''Jubilee  Gift  for  Conference 
Claimants,"  thereby  celebrating  the  Sesqui-Centennial,  or 
150th  Anniversary  of  American  Methodism,  expecting  that 
at  least  a  Million  Dollars  of  it  should  go  into  the  Connec- 
tional Permanent  Fund  of  the  Board. 

ANNUAL  CONFEPENCE  FUNDS 

THESE  EARNEST  WORDS  are  addressed  to  you— a 
personal  message  from  me,  to  whom  in  a  special  way  the 
Cause  of  the  Retired  Ministers,  Widows  and  Orphans  has 
Ijeen  committed.  But  I  speak  not  only  for  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  alone  but  also  in  behalf  of  all  Organ- 
iZATioxs  AND  ANNUAL  CONFERENCES  which  represent  this 
Cause  in  its  nearer  relations.  God  has  raised  up  threescore 
Conference  agents  and  representatives  who  are  serving  the 
Church  and  the  Veteran  Ministry  by  securing  much  needed 
funds.  I  speak  also  for  them.  Their  names  will  ])e  found 
on  page  289.  They  ask  you  to  help  the  Retired  Ministers 
you  know,  and  the  widows  and  children  of  men  who  served 
in  your  own  Conference.  Whatever  organization  you  use  in 
lielping  the  veterans  I  ask  that  ijou  join  in  the  holy  purpose  of 
2)roviding  for  the  Aged  Ministry;  and  I  solicit  from  you — even 
as  thougli  I  were  speaking  to  vou  face  to  face — a  Gift — a  lib  end 
gift— if  possible,  a  GREAT  GIFT  for  this  Cause ;  a  gift  which 
will  represent,  at  least  in  part,  your  duty  in  so  administer- 
ing your  affairs  that  you  may  know,  that  the  aged  Minister 
may  know,  that  God  may  know  that  you  have  administered 
your  estate  in  His  Way. 


122  THE  l^ETIEED  MINISTER 

Should  you  desire  to  communicate  with  me  or  with  your 
Conference  representative,  write  fully  and  freely.  Should 
you  desire  to  see  us,  let  us  know  and  we  will  come  to  you, 
Messengers  of  Divine  Opportunity,  glad  to  return  as  Mes- 
sengers of  your  bounty  to  his  needy  servants. 

Every  day  a  new  earth  mound  covers  the  wearied,  worn 
body  of  an  aged  Methodist  Minister.  Yesterday  you  might 
have  helped  him.  To-day  you  cannot.  I  do  not  appeal  for 
him.  His  reward  is  ample.  But  I  do  appeal  for  his  com- 
rade who  survives,  for  the  aged  companion  of  his  trials  and 
triumphs,  and  for  the  dependent  orphans,  whose  tears  fill 
the  eye  of  God.  Their  needs  furnish  your  highest  oppor- 
tunity for  holy  service. 

The  'best  ivay  for  you,  and  the  best  way  for  the  Old 
Preachers,  who  are  with  us  to-day  but  who  to-morrow  will 
have  gone  to  their  reward,  is  to  maJce  a  Gift  to  them,  to  be 
forever  invested  in  their  behalf  and  in  behalf  of  successive 
generations  of  Aged  Ministers. 

Do  not  say,  as  Festus  did  of  Paul,  ^'Thou  art  beside  thy- 
self !  Much  learning  of  the  needs  of  the  Veterans  doth  make 
thee  mad  V  This  Cause  has  been  on  my  mind  and  heart  for 
years.  If  you  realize  the  need  and  will  contribute  to  relieve 
"the  necessities  of  the  Saints" — the  Aged  Ministers  and 
Widows — I  am  sure  that  you  will  agree  that  "I  speak  the 
words  of  truth  and  soberness.'' 

Chicago,  111.  Joseph  B.  Hingeley. 


VETERANS  OF  THE  CROSS 
V.  A.  Cooper,  D.D. 

Church  of  the  living  God,  arise! 
Your  army  peoples  earth  and  skies; 
Veterans  of  the  living  host, 
Borne  down  with  age  at  duty's  post, 
Worn  out  with  toil  not  counted  loss. 
Come  bending  low  beneath  the  Cross. 

O  Church  of  God,  your  Heroes  greet 
Who  lay  their  trophies  at  your  feet! 
Let  not  the  nation  put  to  shame 
The  gratitude  they  justly  claim. 
Their  wants  relieve,  your  bounty  give 
And  make  them  happy  while  they  live. 


PART  I.    THE  CLAIM  INHERENT 


CHAPTER  II.    OLD  AGE 

1.  Give  Them  the  Flowers  Now 

2.  Some  Advantages  of  Growing  Old.  .  . 


3.  Seven  Ages  of  a  Minister 

4.  The  Senior  Retired  Minister 

5.  Does  the  Ministry  Pay? 

Growing  Old.     Barnes 138 

Will  the  Lights  be  White?     Warman.  138 
0.  The  Old  Man  and  the  Child Tiplady 

Serene    Old  Age Adams . 

7.  William's  Superannuation Harris. 

Why  Do  We  Wait? .     British  Weekly .  14G 


page 

124 

Thomas 125 

Tipple 131 

Clemans 134 

Higgins .135 


139 
142 
143 


(;IVE  TIIEI\r  THE  FLOWERS  NOW 

Closed  eyes  cannot  see  the  white  roses, 

Cold  hands  cannot  hold  them,  you  know 
Breath  that  is  stilled  cannot  gather 

The  odors  that  sweet  from  them  blow. 
Death,  with  a  peace  beyond  dreaming, 

Its  children  of  earth  doth  endow ; 
Life  is  the  time  we  can  help  them, 

So  give  them  the  floivers  NOW. 

Here  are  the  struggles  and  striving. 

Here  are  the  cares  and  the  fears; 
Now  is  the  time  to  be  smoothing 

The  frowns  and  the  furrows  and  tears. 
What  to  closed  ears  are  kind  sayings? 

What  to  hushed  heart  is  deep  vow? 
Naught  can  avail  after  parting, 

80  give  them  the  flowers  KOW. 

Just  a  kind  word  or  a  greeting; 

Just  a  warm  grasp  or  a  smile — 
These  are  the  flowers  that  will  lighten 

The  burdens  of  many  a  mile. 
After  the  journey  is  over. 

After  tired  hands  drop  the  plow, 
What  is  the  use  of  them,  tell  me? 

So  give  them,  the  floivers  NOW. 

Blooms  from  the  happy  heart's  garden, 

Plucked  in  the  spirit  of  love; 
Blooms  that  are  earthly  reflection 

Of  flowers  that  blossom  above — 
Words  cannot  tell  Vviiat  a  measure 

Of  blessing  such  gifts  will  allow 
To  dwell  in  the  lives  of  the  Veterans, 

So  give  them  the  flowers  NOW. 


SOME  ADVANTAGES 
OF  GROWING  OLD 

THE  REV.  W.  H.  THOMAS,  D.D. 

New  England  Conference 


Just  now  it  is  the  fashion  to  be  young.  The  crowds  on  the 
streets  appear  to  be  young,  and  the  profusely  advertised 
lotions  and  treatments  and  devices  to  keep  one  looking  young 
indicate  that  youth  is  the  fashion. 

A  little  while  ago  it  was  the  fashion  for  one  to  appear  to 
be  old.  "Tonsorial  artists"  in  the  eighteenth  century  frosted 
every  head  with  silver.  They  did  not  then  with  evil  pride 
seek  to  conceal  old  age.  The  people  did  not  so  much  pretend 
to  1)0  young  as  to  look  old.  Only  white  heads  of  hair  were  in 
style  and  could  be  admitted  to  court.  I  mention  this  to  disarm 
young  people's  prejudice  in  favor  of  youth  by  calling  to  mind 
that  age  can  be  fashionable,  and  so  perhaps  persuade  them 
to  consent  to  grow  old;  or  at  least  to  look  kindly  on  the  old, 
old  fashion,  ever  new,  of  growing  old;  that  fashion  that  ele- 
vates one  to  the  only  real  and  natural  aristocracy  in  the 
world,  the  aristocracy  of  old  age. 

One  day  Dr.  Holmes  said  he  was  contemplating  writing  a 
])ook  that  would  supplement  his  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast 
Table  by  treating  of  matters  as  over  the  supper  table,  show- 
ing how  the  same  things  looked  when  the  day  was  done.  His 
quaint,  cheery,  and  unconquerable  spirit  is  to  be  found  in  his 
last  l)ook.  Over  the  Tea  Cups. 

Max  Mueller  quotes  with  approval  the  Bishop  of  London's 
statements : 

"Men  judge  more  wisely  of  what  is  essential  and  of  what 
is  indifferent  in  the  quiet  sunset  of  life  than  in  the  heat  and 
burden  of  the  day ;  and  Richter  says : 

"Like  a  morning  dream  life  becomes  more  and  more  bright 
the  longer  we  live,  and  the  reason  for  everything  appears  to 
be  clear.  What  has  puzzled  us  before  seems  less  mysterious, 
and  the  crooked  paths  look  straight  as  we  approach  the  end." 

125 


126  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

That  would  be  a  sorry  arraignment  of  Providence  which 
made  life  continue  while  taking  away  its  advantages,  leaving 
a  man  poorer  for  all  he  has  toiled,  studied  and  suffered;  so 
that  you  may  well  expect  other  advantages  to  replace  those 
taken  away  by  age.  If  youth  takes  away  precious  things  as 
it  departs,  growing  old  brings  other  precious  things  that  can 
only  come  with  the  years.  For  the  years  are  not  robbers. 
Though  they  take  from  us  they  give  us  more  than  they  take, 
and  we  are  the  richer  for  them. 

Age  has  its  own  beauty.  If  the  promise  on  the  face  of 
youth  is  beautiful,  the  achievement,  the  maturity  on  the  face 
of  age  is  likewise  beautiful.  We  have  seen  sweeter  smiles  on 
the  face  of  seventy  than  on  the  face  of  seventeen.  There  is 
a  beauty  one  makes  for  one's  self.  All  life's  good  or  evil 
that  enters  the  soul  of  man  is  at  work  chiseling  and  molding 
the  face.  Ah !  that  wonderful  sculptor  within  us,  who  is 
silently  day  by  day  molding  our  outward  man  to  the  likeness 
of  the  inward  man.  The  beauty  of  matured  character;  the 
beauty  of  the  holiness  the  years  have  molded ;  the  beauty  that 
goodness  brings,  appear  mostly  when  the  evening  rain  of 
memory  falls  on  the  furrowed  cheek. 

By  growing  old  a  man  gets  acquainted  with  himself — usu- 
ally the  last  one  to  get  acquainted  with  and  the  most  difficult 
acquaintance  to  secure.  We  are  taught  that  memory  is  the 
proof  of  identity;  that  although  every  particle  of  body  and 
brain  that  were  me  have  gone,  yet  I  am  "I"  still.  But  there 
is  an  element  deeper  than  memory.  Memory  may  be  de- 
stroyed, yet  personality  goes  on,  all  the  influence  of  its  for- 
gotten past  molding  it.  As  one  grows  older  he  finds  that  the 
"I"  has  survived  all  changes  of  body,  mind  or  character,  and 
of  the  years.  This  inner  selfhood  of  the  soul  is  like  the  clear 
daylight.  It  is  given  us  to  see  with  or  by,  but  we  cannot  see 
it.  The  camera  or  the  artist  can  make  a  picture  with  or  by 
daylight,  but  to  make  a  picture  of  daylight  is  impossible. 

Growing  old  permits  us  to  see  hoiu  much  better  the  world 
is  becoming.  Law  is  being  modified  to  be  more  just;  govern- 
ments are  less  tyrannical  and  more  humane ;  comforts  are 
multiplying  and  being  more  widely  diffused ;  science  is  bring- 
ing to  light  what  has  long  been  hidden  in  darkness.  There 
are  those  to  whom  life  seems  all  askew  and  worse  every  day, 
who  mournfully  ask  what  the  world  is  coming  to.     We  reply 


SO:\[E  ADVANTAGES  OF  GROWING  OLD      127 

that  you  have  only  to  grow  old  and  see  what  it  is  coming  to, 
and  be  glad. 

lieligion  may  change  its  form  of  expression.  The  present 
ecclesiastical  system  was  no  more  to  ])e  found  in  the  first 
century  than  was  the  present  civilization.  When  I  go  about 
among  the  churches  and  listen  to  a  belated  young  preacher 
trying  to  run  his  mill  with  water  that  went  by  years  ago,  and 
to  dreary  repetitions  of  obsolete  commonplaces  that  try  the 
patience  of  the  saints,  I  am  not  discouraged,  for  I  have  looked 
in  our  schools  and  seen  the  faces  of  the  coming  men.  AYhat  a 
great  thing  it  is  to  send  out  to  every  community  a  man  who 
consents  to  a  poorly  paid  calling,  yet  is  refined,  intelligent 
and  quietly  happy  in  self-denying  work;  '^poor,  yet  making 
many  rich"  in  places  where  money  is  made  the  standard  of 
respectability,  influence,  happiness  and  intelligence.  Every 
parsonage  with  its  limited  financial  circumstances  is  pro- 
claiming the  right  value  of  life  to  those  whose  minds  the  god 
of  this  world  has  blinded.    The  great  German  says : 

"Ye  great  or  blessed  spirits  above  us !  When  a  man  here, 
under  the  poor  clouds  of  life,  throws  away  his  fortune  because 
he  prizes  it  less  than  his  heart,  then  is  he  as  blessed  and  as 
great  as  you."  Sadly  Walt  Whitman  wrote,  "I  am  tormented 
day  and  night  by  three  demons,  ill-health,  poverty  and  old 
age/'  but  the  Veteran  Ministry,  that  company  of  the  noble 
army  of  martyrs,  endures  without  complaint.  We  congrat- 
ulate the  Church  that  the  unrighteous,  ungenerous  treatment 
of  them  is  passing  away  and  that  better  conditions  are  coming. 

Growing  old  enables  us  to  laugh  when  the  mourners  go 
about  the  street  crying,  ''Christianity  is  a  failure/'  "Chris- 
tianity a  failure  !"  said  Dr.  Bartol.  "It  has  never  been  tried." 
Men  are  not  tired  of  Christianity.  They  have  never  found 
enough  Christianity  to  get  tired  of  it.  We  have  been  exasper- 
atingly  complacent  about  it,  counting  our  numbers,  boasting 
our  wealth,  not  knowing  how  poor  and  blind  and  naked  we 
were.  But  Christianity  has  not  been  outlived;  it  has  not 
been  lived  enough.  The  Christian  ideal  has  not  been  tried 
and  found  wanting.  It  has  been  found  difficult,  and  tried 
feebly;  but  we  are  just  beginning  to  see  that  the  teachings 
of  Jesus  are  gathering  force  while  other  things  are  falling 
into  contempt. 

The  unrest  of  the  Church  is  a  sign  of  improvement.    In  all 


128  THE  EETIRED  MIXISTER 

ages  the  prophets  and  priests  have  been  at  war.  We  know- 
that  religion  is  not  theology.  It  may  be  lived  under  many 
theologies.  Eeligion  is  not  ecclesiasticism.  It  lives  under 
many  forms  of  Church  organization.  Religion  abides;  the- 
ology and  ecclesiasticism  need  periodical  revision. 

'^It  is  the  strangest  of  paradoxes  in  history  that  religion 
loses  itself  without  the  Church,  and  its  fineness  is  always 
destroyed  within  the  Church."  The  prophet  appears  rousing 
and  firing  the  hearts  of  the  people  for  advance,  but  without 
the  priest  and  the  Church,  he  ends  as  a  voice  crying  in  the 
wilderness.  The  priest,  as  Jesus  said,  slays  the  prophet  and 
l)y-and-by  debases  the  Church.  Yet  the  Church  is  the  refuge 
of  religion  until  the  time  comes,  as  it  inevitably  comes,  when 
it  bursts  out  as  a  pent-up  fountain  and  will  not  be  confined. 
Then  the  priest  and  the  Church  begin  to  make  amends  by 
rearing  handsome  sepulchers  to  slain  prophets.  The  experi- 
ences of  the  years  lead  us  surely  to  expect  that  in  the  end  true 
religion  will  be  the  gainer. 

The  relations  of  science  and  religion  have  changed  with 
the  years  for  the  better.  There  is  no  feud  between  science 
and  religion  any  more  than  there  is  between  science  and  life. 
They  travel  on  parallel  roads.  Science  has  to  do  with  nature's 
processes.  Religion  has  to  do  with  the  consummation  of  the 
processes  of  nature  and  life,  character,  perfection. 

G^'owing  old  brings  the  surer  faith,  because  established  on 
the  facts  of  our  own  experience.  By  seeming  necessity,  every 
once  in  a  while  men  put  their  theories  and  beliefs  into  the 
melting  pot  to  reassay  them  and  put  new  values  on  them. 
It  would  be  unaccountably  sad  indeed  if  God  had  so  fixed  it 
that  the  world  must  depend  for  its  religious  faith  on  the 
disputed  oj^inions  of  the  few.  He  did  not  do  so.  Jesus  said, 
"If  any  man  will  do  His  will  he  shall  know  the  doctrine" ; 
and  the  experience  of  doing  His  will  brings  a  basis  for  a 
satisfactory  faith. 

Long  years  ago  a  very  old  man  went  up  on  a  mountain  to 
die.  He  had  put  into  the  melting  pot  Egyptian  beliefs  and 
the  beliefs  of  the  Hebrew  patriarchs;  his  own  hands  were 
blood-stained;  his  life  strenuous.  He  had  refused  a  throne 
from  principle,  and  had  led  a  people  out  of  bondage.  He  had 
talked  with  God  until  his  face  shone.  He  had  given  (Jod's 
law  to  men,  that  remains  to  this  day.     Yet  he  had  Ijcen  dis- 


SOME  ADVANTAGES  OF  GRO\YINa  OLD     129 

couraged  with  the  waywardness  and  sins  of  the  people.  His 
fondest  hopes,  his  life's  labors  were  -unfulfilled.  He  was  to 
die,  as  so  many  do,  in  sight  of  tlie  promised  land.  Yet  when 
he  went  to  his  death  with  everything  dear  to  him  vanishing 
from  his  sight,  his  death  song  was, 

"Underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms." 

His  life's  problems  had  been  transmuted  into  experience. 
The  evening  mists  of  old  age  and  death  gathered  thicker  and 
thicker  around  him,  but  in  the  darkening  of  life  his  heart 
felt  itself  eml)raced  more  closely  by  the  everlasting  arms. 

He  who  spake  as  never  man  spake  said,  "Love  your  ene- 
mies; bless  them  that  curse  you;  do  good  to  them  that  hate 
you;  i^ray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute 
you."  He  tells  us  to  do  what  is  against  our  nature  and  prac- 
tice. Laws  and  governments  are  against  it.  It  is  easy  to 
prove  that  society  could  not  go  on  bound  by  His  teaching,  and 
yet  in  our  innermost  nature  we  recognize  that  He  is  right, 
and  that  the  highest  soul  must  live  by  His  teaching. 

He  said,  "He  maketh  Plis  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  the 
good."  We  are  confused  and  say,  "Light  is  for  the  good  and 
darkness  for  the  evil;  rain  for  the  just,  but  the  parching 
desert  for  the  unjust."  But  when  He  adds,  "Ye  shall  be 
perfect  as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect,"  we  feel  that  He 
opens  the  door  to  a  life  higher  and  wider  and  no])ler,  and  our 
spirits  respond  thereto. 

Paul  called  Jesus  the  "Yes"  of  the  promises  of  God. 
Christ's  teaching  is  the  affirmation  of  the  aspirations  in  the 
heart  of  man.  Divine  suggestions  come  to  human  conscious- 
ness, and  we  realize  that  we  are  allied  to  a  being  who  guaran- 
tees the  ultimate  goodness  of  existence. 

(J rowing  old  brings  us  where  we  affirm  God  with  every 
breath;  and  every  act  of  disinterested  goodness  proves  our 
sense  of  oneness  with  that  Spirit  whose  claims  are  absolutely 
imperative;  while  underneath  us  are  the  everlasting  arms. 
That  sea  captain  a  thousand  miles  from  land,  suffering  with 
ptomaine  poisoning,  sent  a  wireless  call  for  a  physician  and 
a  prescription,  and  through  hundreds  of  miles  of  darkness 
the  answer  came  fitting  his  needs.  His  agony  abated,  his  life 
was  saved.  So  we  in  our  sore  needs  send  out  our  cries  into  the 
darkness  for  help,  and  the  answer  comes  telling  us  what  we 
must  do  to  be  saved.     It  brings  relief  from  sin,  comfort  in 


130  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

sorrow  and  communion  with  an  intelligence  and  helpfulness 
that  is  out  of  sight.  As  we  grow  old  we  know  by  long  ex- 
perience that  there  is  a  divine  help  that  responds  to  our  cry 
of  need.  This  experience  becomes  as  much  a  reality  as  life 
itself  or  feeling  or  thought,  and  brings  a  defensible  faith, 
"For  faith  is  the  giving  substance  to  things  hoped  for;  a  test 
of  things  not  seen";  so  that  with  Jesus  we  may  say,  "We 
speak  that  we  do  know,  and  testify  that  we  have  seen."  These 
experiences  cost  us  our  days,  our  energies  and  our  illusions, 
but  they  brought  us  to  the  place  wliere — 

"The  steps  of  faith 
Fall  on  the  seeming  void 
And  find  the  rock  beneath." 

They  bring  us  where  we  can  say,  "0  how  melodious  sound 
around  me  the  evening  bells  of  life." 

The  florist  opens  a  box  brought  from  the  far  tropics,  and 
brings  to  vi'cAv  a  gnarled,'  earthly  bull).  He  puts  it  into 
favorable  conditions,  its  face  turned  toward  the  light,  and 
by  and  by  there  hangs  the  exquisite  exotic  orchid.  How 
wonderful  that  so  much  rare  beauty  should  spring  from  so 
much  uncouthness;  that  the  continual  experience  of  the  light 
and  warmth  of  passing  days  should  bring  from  the  root  that 
had  no  beauty  such  a  transcendent  flower  of  supernal  beauty. 
Something  like  that  has  happened  to  us  with  the  growing 
years.  AVe  have  been  persuaded  to  come  out  of  the  dark  prison 
of  sordidness,  to  cast  off  the  cerements  of  sin  and  to  lift  up 
our  souls  into  the  light  of  God.  Something  has  been  unfold- 
ing in  us  after  a  hidden  pattern.  We  would  not  dare  say  it, 
but  the  apostle  does : 

"We  all  with  unveiled  faces  beholding  as  in  a  mirror  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  are  transformed  into  the  same  image,  from 
glory  to  glory,  even  as  from  the  Lord,  the  Spirit." 

If  that  is  the  interpretation  of  our  life's  experiences  with 
God,  then  hopefully,  cheerfully  may  we  still  go  forward  with 
the  years.  By  growing  old  we  graduate  from  the  sad,  pa- 
thetic, longing  cry  of  the  King  James  Version,  "^ly  heart 
and  my  flesh  cry  out  for  the  living  God,"  into  the  experience 
represented  by  the  Revised  Version, 

"My  heart  and  my  flesli  sing  for  joy  for  the  living  God." 

South  Xorwalk,  Conn.  W.  H.  Thomas. 


SEVEN  AGES 
OF  A  MINISTER 

EZRA  SQUIER  TIPPLE,  D.D. 

President  Drew  Theological  Seminary 


I.  The  DiviXE  Summons 

The  aical'ening  voice:  "I  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  say- 
ing, Whom  shall  I  send,  and  who  will  go  for  ns?"  Inward 
struggles:  Men  preach  not  because  they  want  to  preach,  but 
because  they  must.  "Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel/' 
Dawning  convictions :  "Behold,  to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice, 
and  to  hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams."  Worldly  arahitions 
laid  upon  the  altar.    The  sacrifice  complete. 

My  life,  my  blood,  I  here  present, 
If  for  thy  truth  they  may  be  spent; 
Fulfill  thy  sovereign  counsel,  Lord; 
Thy    will    be    done,    thy    name    adored. 

II.  Sharpening  the  Sword 

Days  of  preparation:  A  long  journey  over  a  rough  way. 
Hard  work,  miicli  of  it:  Sacrifices  for  the  sake  of  an  adequate 
equipment  daily.  Patient  effort,  long  continued:  The  preacher 
must  get  some  word  from  God  before  he  speaks  it. 

"Clearly  he  has  a  task  which  will  need  an  undivided  atten- 
tion and  a  complete  absorption  in  its  fulfillment.  He  is  to  climb 
Sinai  with  its  ring-fence  of  death,  and  on  the  summit  speak 
face  to  face  wilh  Him  whom  no  one  can  see  and  yet  live.  He 
is  to  push  through  the  wilderness,  eating  angels'  meat  or 
nothing,  and  scale  the  crags  of  Horeb,  where  in  a  great  hollow, 
shadowed  by  a  hand,  he  may,  through  earthquake,  wind,  and 
fire,  discern  the  still  small  voice.  What  a  venture  it  is  for 
him!  No  sphere  of  human  activity  is  to  be  compared  with  the 
exigencies  of  this  endeavor." — Horton. 

Days  of  waiting,  as  in  the  upper  room  in  Jerusalem ;  desert 
days,  as  to  John;  days  of  tvant  and  penury  even,  but  days  of 
heroic  ideals  and  high  hopes. 

131 


132  THE  L^ETII^ED  MINISTER 

III.  On  the  Skirmish  Line 

When,  at  one  of  the  early  Conferences  of  the  Church, 
Bishop  Asbury  called  for  a  volunteer  to  go  to  some  desert 
region  in  the  far  South,  "the  region  of  many  diseases  and 
broken  constitutions/'  as  he  said,  Enoch  George  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  cried,  "Here  am  I;  send  me."  This  has  ever  been 
the  spirit  of  the  Methodist  preaclter.  An  apostle  "by  the 
will  of  God,''  he  has  gone  to  Hardscrabble  Circuit,  or  other 
difficult  field,  with  courage  and  gladness  of  heart.  Salary 
small,  $400  or  $500  perhaps,  but  he  is  not  of  those  prophets 
who,  according  to  Amaziah's  scornful  judgment,  preach  in 
order  to  earn  their  bread.  Anyhow,  many  churches  seem  to 
believe  that  ministers  ought  not  to  expect  to  live  by  bread 
alone,  and  furnish  a  more  ethereal  diet.  So  there  is  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  story  of  hardships  and  sacrifices. 

IV.  In  the  Heat  of  the  Conflict 

Sun  at  meridian;  battle  at  high  tide;  the  exhilaration  of 
victory  felt ;  all  the  powers  of  mind  and  heart  at  full  play. 

'Tis  not  a  cause  of  small  Import 

The  pastor's  care   demands; 
But   what   might   fill    an   angel's   heart, 

And  filled  a  Saviour's  hands. 

Yet  all  the  while  continued  sacrifices,  Eigid  self-denial  the 
rule  of  the  household ;  children  to  be  educated ;  an  example  of 
benevolence  to  be  shown;  appearances  to  be  kept  up;  a  thou- 
sand demands  on  the  preacher's  income.  AA^hat  of  the  rainy 
day?  Or  old  age?  But  why  have  anxious  thought  of  the 
morrow?  Has  not  this  preacher  the  divine  promises  and  the 
pledge  of  a  great  Church  ? 

V.  The  Turn  or  the  Tide 

Scarcely  perceptible  at  first,  but  the  tide  is  going  out  now. 
He  is  stronger  and  better  equipped  than  at  any  time  in  his 
life,  but  fewer  churches  seem  to  desire  him.  0  the  shame 
of  it !  There  is  a  touch  of  gray  in  his  hair,  and  church  com- 
mittees turn  from  him  as  "too  old."  He  knows  how  false  it 
is;  his  soul  protests  against  the  injustice  of  it  all;  but,  but 
— why  kick  against  the  pricks?    The  tide  is  at  the  ebb  now. 


SEVEN  AGES  OF  A  MINISTER  133 

VI.  The  Lengtiienixg  Shadows 

The  years  multiply.  Forty  of  them  perhaps  have  now  been 
given  to  the  Church.  They  have  indeed  been  years  of  hard- 
ship and  sacrifice,  but  glad,  happy  years  of  blessed  service. 
Salaries  have  never  he  en  large,  but  there  has  been  no  com- 
plaint. He  did  not  enter  the  ministry  to  make  money — that 
question  was  settled  in  those  far-off  days  when  he  heard  the 
voice  of  the  Lord.  He  has  preached,  not  for  money,  but  that 
he  might  have  the  seal  of  God's  favor  and  the  approval  of 
his  own  conscience.  8ouls  have  been  his  hire.  Neither  God 
nor  the  Methodist  Church  has  yet  failed  him.  Why  should 
he  doubt  or  fear  now,  when  he  walks  with  faltering  step,  when 
work  is  becoming  too  heavy  a  burden  for  him  to  carry  mucli 
longer  ? 

VII.  SUPEPtAXNUATTON 

The  preacher's  Gethsemane,  too  often,  alas!  The  fateful 
hour,  towards  which  he  has  sometimes  looked  with  mysterious 
dread,  has  come.  He  is  no  longer  in  "active"  service.  An- 
other has  taken  liis  place  on  tJie  firing  line.  He  watches  the 
conflict  from  a  distance.  0  the  anguish  of  this,  when  his 
heart  still  beats  with  courage  and  the  song  of  battle  is  still 
on  his  lips !  Few  realize  the  agony  and  bitterness  of  this 
experience.  But,  anyhow,  he  is  comfortable,  you  say.  Is  he? 
IS  he  comfortable? 

What  was  it  Cardinal  Wolsey  said,  in  his  fall  from  power? 
"Had  I  but  served  my  God  with  half  the  zeal  I  served  my 
king,  he  would  not  in  mine  age  have  left  me  naked  to  mine 
enemies."  This  man,  this  Methodist  preacher,  has  been  serv- 
ing God  these  many  years.  He  has  given  to  the  Church  all 
his  affection,  energy,  thought  and  devotion.  God  has  been 
his  master;  the  Church  has  been  the  field  of  his  unremitting 
toil.  Now  that  he  has  come  to  old  age,  will  the  Lord  cast 
him  off?  Never.  God's  promises  are  sure.  They  have  not 
been  revoked.  What  is  this  that  He  pledges?  "I  will  in 
nowise  fail  thee,  neither  will  I  in  any  wise  forsake  thee." 

E'en  down  to  old  age  all  my  people  shall  prove 
My   sovereign,  eternal,  unchangeable  love; 
And  when  hoary  hairs  shall  their  temples  adorn, 
Like  lambs  they  shall  still  in  my  bosom  be  borne. 


134 


THE  RETIKED  MINISTER 


God  must  make  good  His  word  to  the  old  preacher,  but 
how?  God  works  through  his  people.  The  Church  must 
make  good  the  pledges  of  the  Almighty.  The  Lord  has  laid 
upon  the  Church  this  solemn  duty.  The  Church  is  the  bank 
where  God^s  promises  to  the  old  preacher  must  be  cashed. 
Archangels  will  not  be  sent  from  heaven  with  currency  as  long 
as  the  Church  has  an  abundance.  God  is  pledged  to  the 
support  of  II vi  sons  wJio  trust  in  Ilim,  and  ire  are  His  chosen 
agents  to  do  His  ivill  toward  them.  \Ye  must  not  fail  Him, 
lest  those  whom  He  loves  and  whom  wt  love  and  honor,  and 
to  whose  fidelity  and  labors  the  Church  and,  it  may  be,  our 
own  soul  owes  so  much,  when  in  their  old  age  they  ask  for 
bread  are  given  a  stone,  or  for  fish  are  given  a  serpent.  The 
Churcli  must,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  care  for  the  preacher 
who  in  the  journey  of  life  has  come  to  the  last  inn  on  the  road 
and  ''superannuated,"  waits  the  royal  summons. 

Madison,  N.  J.  Ezra  S.  Tipple. 

THE  SENIOE  RETIRED  METHODIST  MINISTER 


The  Rev.  David  Jordan  Higgins,  D.D. — 97  Years  Old 

Dr.  Higgins  was  born  at  Gorham,  Me.,  on  September  18th, 
1817.  He  pursued  his  studies  at  Wesleyan  University  for 
three  years  and  entered  the  Maine  Conference  in  1842. 


DOES  THE  MINISTRY  PAY?  135 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  he  raised  a  company  and 
was  made  its  Captain,  and  quickly  won  his  way  to  promotion, 
being  commissioned  Colonel  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Ohio  Vol- 
unteer Infantry.  Physically  disabled  by  the  hardships  of  the 
service,  he  resigned  his  commission  and  soon  after  reentered 
the  Methodist  ministry  in  Minnesota.  He  took  a  Retired 
relation  in  the  Northern  Minnesota  Conference  in  1899. 

Dr.  Higgins  has  been  a  student  all  his  life.  Two  years  ago 
he  completed  a  four  years'  course  in  advanced  philosophy  in 
the  University  of  California,  and  is  now  taking  a  course  of 
study  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy.  He  has  written 
recently  American  Life  in  the  XIX  Century,  and  Tlie  Prob- 
lem of  Christicinity. 

Concerning  his  books,  he  wrote : 

"I  make  these  studies  for  my  physical  benefit,  for  I  find 
that  my  physical  energy  depends  largely  upon  my  mental 
activity." 

Dr.  Higgins  is  also  a  Bible  student  and  has  made  it  his 
daily  practice  for  years  to  read  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  in  the 
Greek  or  Hebrew  text.  He  is  a  standing  rebuke  to  any  young 
minister  Avho  thinks  that  he  has  completed  his  studies  when 
he  has  finished  his  Conference  Course.  Though  almost  a 
centenarian,  his  mental  activities  are  keen.  At  the  request 
of  Dr.  Hingeley  he  prepared  the  following  article: 

DOES  THE  MINISTRY  PAY? 

The  Pkv.  David  Jordax  Higgins,  D.D. 

Seventy  years  in  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcoj^al 
Church  furnishes  a  Avhole  volume  of  reminiscences;  especially 
because  no  organization  affords  such  variety  of  life  experiences 
as  does  the  Methodist  Itinerancy.  In  the  early  days  the  pas- 
torate of  one-year  limit  kept  the  preacher  busy  night  and  day. 
What  lie  did  must  be  done  rapidly,  for  the  "Itinerant  Wheel"' 
revolved  as  regularly  and  inexorably  as  the  earth,  and  he  must 
move  on,  his  work  completed  or  not.  His  one  work  was 
evangelizing  sinners,  with  but  small  opportunity  to  make  him- 
self felt  as  a  factor  in  social  or  civic  life.  His  salary  of  $100, 
if  paid  in  full,  provided  his  clothing  and  supplied  him  with 
the    few    books    necessary    for    the    "Conference    Course   of 


136  THE  J?ETTI?ED  MINISTER 

Study.''  But  his  food  and  that  of  his  horse  was  abundant 
and  of  the  best  quality;  for  the  mothers  and  sisters  of  the 
Church  displayed  the  best  specimens  of  their  culinary  art 
when  the  preacher  came  around,  for  his  special  good  or  harm ; 
often  for  his  harm,  for  many  a  favorite  preacher  owed  his 
untimely  death  to  the  rich  food  urged  upon  him  by  the  good 
sisters.  What  a  picture,  that  home,  where  the  preacher  was 
entertained:  The  best  room;  the  nice  warm  bed;  the  cozy 
open  fire ;  tlie  brooding  mother,  and  the  smiling  daughters. 

The  scene  changes  and  the  pastorate  lengthens  to  two  years, 
and  the  salary  is  raised  to  $300.  A  parsonage  is  supplied, 
and  the  preacher's  bride  fills  it  with  sunshine.  What  a  joy 
animates  the  heart  and  life  of  the  i^reacher,  when  the  choicest 
maiden  of  the  whole  country  comes  to  the  parsonage !  No 
matter  now,  how  long  the  rides  between  appointments,  or  how 
cold  the  storm  that  beats  in  his  face,  there  is  a  home  awaiting 
him  with  the  welcoming  kiss  and  loving  greetings. 

The  children  come,  blessed  children !  Their  clattering  feet, 
and  ringing  voices  seem  like  angel  wings,  and  the  sweet 
melody  of  heaven.  The  cunning  fingers  of  the  wife  and 
mother  cut  and  stretch  the  scanty  cloth  for  the  children's 
garments,  and  mend  the  socks  of  the  husband;  and,  best  of 
all,  she  sits  at  his  side  and  helps  to  untangle  the  knotty 
dogmas  of  Paley,  Butler  or  AVatson,  or  suggests  a  needed 
thought  for  next  Sunday's  sermon. 

The  years  pass ;  and  the  comfortable,  neat  church,  with  its 
steeple,  takes  the  place  of  the  rough  school  house.  The  pipe 
organ  is  substituted  for  the  bass-viol  and  flute.  The  Confer- 
ence Seminary  rises,  and  the  children  finish  their  education 
or  prepare  for  college.  The  grand  old  Church  of  the 
preacher's  love  and  care  grows  in  strength  and  wealth.  The 
pastorate  lengthens,  the  time  limit  dies  out,  and  the  preacher 
stays  at  his  work  as  long  as  all  parties  agree ;  long  enough  to 
become  a  felt  factor  in  social  and  civic  life.  He  is  no  longer 
a  "Traveling  Preacher."  He  has  become  a  '^'Settled  Pastor." 
The  Church  becomes  institutional,  rather  than  evangelistic, 
as  when  he  began  his  ministry.  The  work  of  the  preacher 
becomes  educational  rather  than  revivalistic,  and  his  worth 
is  gauged  by  his  ability  to  build  imposing  church  edifices, 
and  to  raise  money  for  the  conservation  of  the  institutions  of 
the  Church.     The  wealthy  churches  elect  their  pastors  by 


DOES  THE  MINISTRY  PAY?  137 

committee  with  the  approval  of  the  appointing  power.     Edu- 
cation, with  its  wider  range  of  study,  is  the  spirit  of  the  times. 

Meanwhile  the  average  preacher  receives  his  appointment 
as  in  the  older  time,  and  lives  on  the  "ragged  edge"  of  appre- 
hension as  to  what  he  will  do  when  he  is  old  and  must  retire 
from  active  work ;  for  after  educating  his  children  and  living 
decently  among  his  parishioners,  he  has  no  margin  to  save 
for  the  future. 

At  last  the  time  comes  for  him  to  retire.  His  gray  hairs 
tell  of  passing  years,  and  the  young  people  want  young  minis- 
ters, who  can  more  readily  sympathize  with  their  tastes,  and 
are  "ui^-to-date."  So  he  retires  from  the  work  which  he  has 
loved,  and  in  which  he  has  found  his  highest  joy,  into  the 
seclusion  of  superannuation. 

The  children  have  gone  out  and  made  homes  for  themselves. 
With  his  gracious  wife,  who  has  borne  with  him  the  burdens 
of  itinerant  life,  and  feasted  on  the  riches  of  sweet  com- 
munion with  the  parishioners,  he  finds  a  home  for  himself, 
relying  on  the  pension,  that  the  Church  is  bestowing,  and 
which  is  increasing  annually.  They  retire  into  the  bosom  of 
some  local  Church  and  thank  God  that  they  have  been  hon- 
ored with  the  privilege  of  serving  the  Church  and  humanity, 
within  the  limits  of  their  ability,  and  of  associating  with  the 
highest  and  noblest  class  of  people  human  life  has  produced. 

Does  the  itinerant  ministry  pay?  Are  there  compensations 
for  whatever  extra  labor  and  privation  the  calling  involves? 
For  answer:  Think  of  the  rich  inheritance  of  benefits  which 
have  accrued  from  the  passing  years,  and  have  accumulated 
into  a  fund  of  experiences.  The  elevating  influence  of  pas- 
toral intercourse  with  the  cleanest  class  of  human  beings. 
The  invigorating  exchange  of  high  thought  with  fellow  min- 
isters. The  necessity  of  large  and  close  study  of  the  develop- 
ing knowledge  of  the  age.  The  call  for  constant  intimacy 
and  communion  with  the  Divine  for  inspiration  to  understand 
the  message  he  is  to  deliver  to  the  people.  All  these,  and 
unspeakably  more  of  inflowing  results,  have  poured  in  to 
make  his  character.  No  preacher  of  sober  mind,  reviewing 
his  ministerial  experiences,  can  fail  to  rejoice  that  he  was 
called  to  be  an  '^Itinerant  Preacher." 

David  J.  Higgins, 

Pasadena,  Cal. 


138         •  THE  EETIKED  MlxVlSTEK 

GEOWING  OLD 

Dr.  a.  V.  Barnes,  in  The  Christian  Advocate 

A  little  more  tired  at  the  close  of  day, 
A  little  less  anxious  to  have  our  way; 
A  little  less  anxious  to  scold  and  blame, 
A  little  more  care  for  a  brother's  name; 
And  so  we  are  nearing  the  journey's  end, 
Where  time  and  eternity  meet  and  blend. 

A  little  less  care  for  bonds  of  gold, 
A  little  more  zest  for  the  days  of  old, 
A  broader  view  and  a  saner  mind, 
And  a  little  more  love  for  all  mankind; 
And  so  we  are  faring  down  the  way 
That  leads  to  the  gates  of  a  better  day. 

A  little  more  love  for  the  friends  of  youth, 
A  little  more  zeal  for  established  truth; 
A  little  more  charity  in  our  views, 
A  little  less  thirst  for  the  daily  news; 
And  so  we  are  folding  our  tents  away 
And  passing  in  silence  at  close  of  day. 

A  little  more  leisure  to  sit  and  dream, 

A  little  more  real  the  things  unseen; 

A  little  nearer  to  those  ahead. 

With  visions  of  those  long  loved  and  dead; 

And  so  we  are  going  where  all  must  go. 

To  the  place  the  living  may  never  know. 

A  little  more  laughter,  a  few  more  tears. 
And  we  shall  have  told  our  increasing  years. 
The  book  is  closed,  and  the  prayers  are  said, 
And  we  are  part  of  the  countless  dead. 
Thrice  happy,  then,  if  some  soul  can  say, 
"I  live  because  he  passed  my  way." 


WILL  THE  LIGHTS  BE  WHITE? 

Cy  Warman 

Oft  when  I  feel  my  engine  swerve. 

As  o'er  strange  rails  we  fare, 
I  strain  my  eyes  around  the  curve 

For  what  awaits  us  there. 

Swift  towards  life's  Terminal  I  trend. 
The  run  seems  short  to-night. 

God  only  knows  what's  at  the  end; 
I  hope  the  lamps  are  white, 


THE  OLD  MAN  AND 
THE  CHILD 

THE  REV.  THOMAS  TIPLADY 

London,  England 


Tlie  modern  Cluireli  has  ignored  those  in  life's  second  cliihl- 
hood.  The  commercial  world  regards  a  man  as  "too  old  at 
fort}^'^  and  "fires  out"  its  gray-haired  ones,  and  unfortunately, 
the  Church  has  accepted  the  world's  estimate.  There  are 
monthly  sermons  to  young  men  and  women,  but  I  have  never 
seen  any  advertisement  of  monthly  sermons  to  old  men  and 
women.  The  idea  would  be  laughed  at.  I  don't  know  why. 
Probably  old  men  need  comforting,  as  often  as  young  men 
need  inspiring;  but  the  young  men  are  placed  in  the  center 
of  the  Church  and  the  old  men  are  left  out  in  the  cold — and 
old  people  are  susceptil)le  to  cold.  The  old  man  looks  back 
wistfully  to  the  days  when  white  hairs  were  regarded  as  a  halo 
of  glory,  and  often,  when  the  preacher  has  forgotten  him, 
there  has  been  "a  door  opened  in  heaven"  and  he  has  seen 
there  One  Whose  "hair  was  white  as  white  wool,  wliite  as 
snow." 

Forces 

Old  men  cannot  hustle  and  make  things  hum;  therefore  it 
is  concluded  that  their  work  is  done.  But  Mr.  Worldly  Wise- 
man and  Mr.  American  Hustle  have  yet  to  learn  that  it  is  not 
so  much  what  we  do  that  counts,  as  what  we  are.  The  might- 
iest forces  in  grace,  as  in  nature,  are  often  quiet  and  still. 

A  Child's  Vision" 
The  Church,  by  accepting  the  commercial  world's  estimates 
of  human  life,  has  cut  itself  off  from  its  chief  reservoirs  of 
spiritual  power.  The  most  spiritual  people  in  the  world  are 
the  children  and  the  aged,  and  the  most  worldly  are  the 
middle-aged.  A  child's  life  is  full  of  the  spiritual  and 
romantic.     The  world  to  him  is  full  of  fairies,  angels,  devils 

139 


140  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

and,  above  all,  God.  Heaven  is  as  real  to  him  as  England, 
and  more  real  than  France.  He  believes  in  immortality,  but 
not  in  death.  He  believes  in  prayer.  It  is  as  natural  as  talk. 
He  walks  with  sure  step  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  talks 
intimately  and  naturally  about  it.  He  has  not  merely  ideas 
but  knowledge,  not  merely  belief  but  vision.  He  renews  the 
faith  of  his  parents,  as  quietly  and  surely  as  spring  renews 
the  face  of  nature. 

Extremes  Meet 

It  is  the  same  with  the  aged.  They  are  in  lifers  second 
childhood.  The  extremes  of  age  meet,  and  human  life  be- 
comes a  perfect  circle.  The  old  man  has  sailed  round  the 
world  of  human  experience,  and  finds  himself  back  in  the 
harbor  from  which  he  sailed  as  a  boy.  He  set  out  to  prove 
what  he  already  knew  by  intuition.  Columbus  had  discov- 
ered America  before  he  sailed  from  Europe.  He  sailed  the 
Atlantic  to  prove  the  truth  of  that  which  had  already  been 
revealed  to  his  mind.  The  child  knows,  but  has  not  proved 
his  knowledge.  The  old  man  has  proved  what  the  child 
knows  by  intuition.  The  middle-aged  is  in  mid-Atlantic 
beset  with  doubts  and  fears.  He  has  not  the  unwavering 
faith  with  which  he  started,  nor  the  absolute  assurance  with 
which  he  will  end. 

Youth  and  Age  Lovees 

Only  tlie  child  and  the  old  man  are  sure.  They  see  the 
same  things  and  subscribe  to  the  same  creed.  Children  and 
old  folk  love  the  same  objects  and  treasure  the  same  ideals. 
That  is  why  children  and  old  people  become  chums,  and  never 
quarrel.  They  understand  one  another.  The  middle-aged 
understand  neither  of  them.  It  is  always  the  grandparents 
who  spoil  the  children,  and  the  children  who  spoil  the  grand- 
parents. Leave  the  young  and  the  old  together,  and  they 
are  as  happy  as  the  day  is  long. 

Aged  Simeon  and  the  Babe 

It  was,  of  course,  two  old  people  who  first  discovered  the 
Babe  Jesus  in  the  temple.  Old  Simeon  and  Anna  were  the 
first  to  bless  the  Child  and  to  praise  God  for  Him.  The 
picture  of  old  Simeon  with  the  Babe  Jesus  in  his  arms  shows 


THE  OLD  MAN  AND  THE  CHILD  Ul 

the  eternal  relationship  of  childhood  to  old  age.  An  old 
man  always  feels  like  singing  the  Nunc  Dimittis  when  he 
has  a  child  in  his  arms.  He  feels  that,  at  last,  he  is  under- 
stood; that  he  is  no  longer  among  strangers,  but  at  home; 
at  last  all  is  harmony.  The  child  and  the  old  man  are  alike — 
gay,  careless,  romantic  and  devout.  There  is  merriment  when 
they  meet.  Life  is  always  dull  when  you  have  sent  the  chil- 
dren to  the  boarding-school  and  the  old  folk  to  the  workhouse. 

Mid-Life  Least  Spieitual 

It  is  in  mid-life  that  we  are  least  spiritual  and  keep  closest 
to  the  earth.  We  walk  the  midmost  years  with  leaden  feet. 
The  middle-aged  has  to  bear  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day. 
He  has  to  provide  for  the  little  children  and  the  old  folk,  as 
well  as  for  himself.  He  has  to  enter  into  the  thick  of  the 
fight,  and  his  eyes  are  blinded  by  the  battle-smoke  and  his 
ears  deafened  by  the  sound  of  blows.  He  turns  from  poetry 
to  prose,  and  from  romance  to  what  he  calls  reality.  He  gets 
so  near  to  life  that  he  becomes  short-sighted.  He  lacks 
vision.  He  cannot  see  the  woods  for  the  trees.  He  begins 
to  despise  his  early  ideals:  and  to  call  himself  a  "practical 
man."  In  the  Church  his  bent  is  toward  business  and  or- 
ganization, and  he  makes  a  splendid  Church  officer;  but  he 
is  inclined  to  leave  the  more  spiritual  work  to  the  young 
folk  and  the  old  folk.  To  him  the  Church  is  a  machine,  and 
he  wants  to  "run"  it  on  up-to-date  business  lines;  but  to  the 
old  man  and  the  youth  the  Church  is  a  living  thing — a  plant, 
or  vine,  that  needs  loving  and  tending. 

Lack  of  Vision 

Now,  it  is  evident  that  if  the  Church's  life  is  to  be  full  and 
complete  we  must  have  youth,  mid-life  and  old  age  evenly 
balanced.  If  youth  predominates  there  will  be  too  much  of 
the  ideal  and  too  little  of  the  practical;  if  the  middle-aged 
predominate  there  will  be  too  much  organization  and  too 
little  of  the  ideal  and  spiritual ;  and  if  the  old  folks  predom- 
inate there  will  be  spirituality,  but  the  organization  will  fall 
to  pieces.  In  the  Church  of  to-day  the  middle-aged  pre- 
dominate, and  there  is  a  consequent  lack  of  vision.  The 
machine  is  perfect,  but  we  do  not  know  what  to  do  with  it. 
Our  gun  is  perfect,  but  we  do  not  know  how  to  point  it. 


112  THE  KETIKED  MINISTER 

Having  no  vision,  we  cannot  see  where  the  enemy  is.  The 
middle-aged  are  the  hands  of  the  Church,  but  the  young  and 
the  aged  are  the  eyes  and  ears. 

Listen  and  be  Keverent 

We  need  not  only  hands  to  fire  the  gun,  but  eyes  to  direct 
it.  We  need  the  aged  Moses  on  the  hill-top  praying,  if  the 
younger  Joshua  is  to  fight  successfully  in  the  valley.  It  is 
the  young  men  who  see  visions  and  the  old  men  who  dream 
dreams;  and  it  is  the  middle-aged  that  work  them  out. 
Joseph  dreamt  in  his  youth,  and  worked  out  his  dreams  in 
mid-life.  The  need  of  to-day  is  vision,  and  it  will  come 
when  we  lead  back  the  children  into  the  pews  and  the  old 
people  into  the  counsels  of  the  Church.  The  child  and  the 
old  man  each  live  on  the  border-land  of  the  eternal  world. 
The  child  comes  to  us  with  trailing  clouds  of  glory  from 
heaven  which  is  his  home,  and  the  old  man  stands  at  the 
bounds  of  the  west  gazing  on  the  City  of  God.  Th;  child 
is  bathed  in  the  beauty  of  the  dawn,  and  the  old  man  is  lit 
up  with  the  glory  of  the  sunset.  Let  us  be  reverent  before 
them,  and  honor  whom  God  honors.  Let  us  listen  to  the 
voices  which  come  to  us  from  the  extreme  bounds  of  life. 
Let  us  listen,  for  the  child's  voice  is  weak  and  the  old  man's 
tremulous,  and  we  may  miss  that  which  belongs  to  our  peace. 

Thomas  Tiplady. 

London,  Eno^land. 


SERENE  OLD  AGE 

The  Rev.  J.  W.  Adams,  D.D. 

Serene  I  watch  Life's  setting  sun: 
The  twilight  scarcely  seems  begun. 
I  still  can  see  afield  to  go; 
And  still  I  joy  to  reap  and  sow; 
And  so,  at  threescore  years  and  ten, 
I'm  happy  as  I've  ever  been. 

I'm  learning  where  are  pastures  green, 

And  waters  still  that  lie  between. 

With  shepherd's  crook  and  shepherd's  pride, 

My  trusting  little  flock  I  guide. 

Of  all  the  years  which  I  recall, 

The  seventieth  has  been  best  of  all. 


WILLIAM'S  SUPERANNUATION 

FROM  "THE  CIRCUIT  RIDER'S  WIFE" 

BY  CORRA  HARRIS 

Permission  of    The  Altemus  Co.,  Philadelphia 


William  was  failiiio^  fast  and  he  came  down  with  sciatica 
that  spring.  He  had  been  in  bed  a  month.  The  people  on  the 
circuit  began  to  show  that  they  were  disappointed  in  not 
having  an  active  man  who  could  fill  his  appointments.  .  .  . 
I  was  sitting  in  the  kitchen  door  one  morning  wondering 
what  God  was  going  to  do  al)out  it;  for  I  knew  that  we 
could  not  expect  help  from  any  other  source.  The  agnostics 
may  say  what  they  please,  but  if  you  get  cornered  between 
old  age  and  starvation  you  will  find  out  that  there  is  a  real, 
sure-enough  God  who  numbers  the  remaining  haii's  of  your 
head  and  counts  the  sparrow's  fall.  William  and  I  tried 
Him  and  we  know.  There  were  terrible  times  toward  the 
last,  when  we  never  could  have  made  it  if  it  had  not  been 
for  just  God. 

William  never  recovered  from  that  attack  of  sciatica.  His 
legs  got  well,  but  he  did  not.  He  was  difl^erent  afterward, 
as  if  he  had  fallen  into  a  trance.  He  filled  his  appointments 
after  a  fashion  during  the  remainder  of  the  year,  but  became 
increasingly  forgetful.  The  people  did  not  like  it  and  the 
presiding  elder  called  for  his  superannuation  at  the  Con- 
ference on  the  ground  of  "failing  powers." 

William  was  too  dazed  by  the  misfortune  of  his  superan- 
nuation to  think  or  plan  for  the  future.  For  him  there  was 
no  future.  He  sat  in  the  chimney  corner,  following  me  about 
the  house  with  his  vacant  eyes,  but  really  grieving  for  one 
of  the  choice,  hard  circuits,  with  its  dried  fruit  salary,  such 
as  he  had  received  for  years;  or  remembering  the  good 
pastoral  times  he  had  in  this  or  that  year. 

I  have  sometimes  wondered  what  would  be  the  moral 
effect  upon  a  church  community  if  an  old  and  helpless 
preacher  like  William  should  be  sent  to  it  with  the  under- 

143 


144  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

standing  that  the  church  should  minister  to  him  instead  of 
him  ministering  to  the  church;  that  every  saint  and  sinner 
sliould  be  invited  to  contribute  to  his  peace  and  comfort,  even 
as  for  years  lie  had  labored  for  them.  There  would  be  less 
preaching,  of  course,  but  more  develoimient  in  real  Chris- 
tian service. 

Witliin  a  month  the  horse  and  buggy  were  sold,  the  cottage 
at  Redwine  rented,  and  we  settled  in  it  like  two  crippled 
birds  in  a  half-feathered  nest.  Now,  for  the  first  time  since 
I  left  Edenton,  a  happy,  thoughtless  bride,  I  had  leisure  to 
think  just  of  ourselves.  And  I  found  that  we  were  two 
liuman  numerals  added  together  for  a  lifetime  which  made 
a  deficit.  Yet  we  liad  not  been  idle  or  indifferent  workers. 
For  thirty  years  William  had  been  in  the  itineracy,  filling 
nearly  every  third  and  fourth  class  appointment  in  the  Con- 
ference. He  had  preached  three  thousand  sermons,  baptized 
more  than  four  hundred  infants,  received  nearly  four  thou- 
sand souls  into  membership.  He  had  been  untiring  in  his 
efforts  to  raise  ]iis  assessments,  and  had  paid  more  pastoral 
calls  than  half  a  dozen  doctors  do  to  become  famous  and 
wealthy. 

Time  changed  us;  we  grew  old.  I  abandoned  my  waist 
line  to  Nature's  will  and  my  face  settled  into  the  expression 
of  a  good  negative  that  has  been  blurred  by  too  long  exposure 
to  strong  light.  Toward  the  end  William  looked  like  the 
skin-and-bones  remnant  of  a  saint.  His  face  was  sunken 
and  hollowed  out  till  the  very  Wesley  in  him  showed  through. 
His  beard  was  long,  and  had  whitened,  until  it  gave  his  Moses 
head  the  appearance  of  coming  up  out  of  a  holy  mist.  To 
make  things  worse  William  took  on  a  weary  look  after  his 
superannuation  like  that  of  a  man  who  has  made  a  long 
journey  in  vain.  This  is  always  the  last  definition  the  itiner- 
acy writes  upon  the  faces  of  its  superannuates.  They  are 
unhappy,  mortified,  like  honorable  men  who  have  failed  in 
l)usiness.  They  no  longer  pretend  to  have  better  health  than 
they  really  have,  which  is  the  pathetic  hypocrisy  they  all 
practice  to  the  last  wlien  they  are  in  annual  fear  of  superan- 
nuation. So  I  looked  at  our  deficit  and  knew  that  some- 
thing was  wrong. 

I  have  never  doubted  the  goodness  of  God,  but  things  being 
as  they  are,  and  we  lacing  what  we  are,  it  takes  a  long  time  for 


WILLIAM'S  SUPERANNUATION-  145 

Him  to  work  it  out  for  us,  especially  in  any  kind  of  a 
Church.  Meanwhile  I  tried  to  find  some  of  our  old  friends, 
only  to  discover  that  most  of  them  were  dead.  I  planted  a 
few  annuals,  set  some  hens,  and  prepared  to  cultivate  my 
own  peace. 

But  William  was  changed.  He  had  lost  his  courage. 
Whenever  the  rheumatism  struck  him  he  gave  in  with  a 
groan.  Then  he  took  up  with  Job  and  before  we  had  been 
back  long  enough  for  the  flowers  to  bloom,  he  just  turned 
over  on  his  spiritual  ash-heap  and  died.  He  was  buried  in 
the  little  graveyard  behind  Red  wine  Church,  along  with 
the  men  and  women  to  whom  he  preached  thirty  years  ago. 

I  can  feel  that  I  am  not  setting  things  down  right,  not 
making  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  experience  clearly  so 
you  can  see,  as  I  can  when  I  close  my  eyes,  the  staggering 
tomV)&tones  in  the  brown  shadows  behind  the  little  brown 
church. 

I  used  to  wonder  why  Paul,  passing  through  all  the  grand- 
est cities  and  civilizations  of  his  times,  never  left  behind  him 
a  single  description  of  any  of  their  glories.  But  I  know  now. 
Paul  lost  the  memory  of  sight.  He  had  al)sent-minded  eyes 
to  the  tilings  of  the  world.  So  it  is  with  the  itinerant.  The 
earth  becomes  one  of  the  stars.  I  cannot  remember  roads 
and  realities.  I  recall  most  clearly  only  spiritual  facts,  like 
this:  Timothy  BroAAm  was  a  bad  man,  soundly  converted 
under  William's  ministry;  but  how  he  looked,  on  what  cir- 
cuit he  lived,  I  have  forgotten  long  ago. 

The  very  scene  of  his  passing  floats  a  mist  in  memory.  I 
know  he  lay  in  the  same  house  where  he  had  brought  me  on 
our  wedding  day.  Through  the  window  in  the  pearl  light 
of  the  early  morning  there  was  the  same  freshness  upon  the 
hills,  the  same  streams  glistening  like  silver  maces  between 
them;  there  was  the  same  little  valley  below,  fluted  in  like  a 
cup  filled  with  corn  and  honey  and  bees  and  flowers.  The 
same  gray  farmhouses  brooded  close  to  the  earth,  with  chil- 
dren playing  in  the  dooryards.  It  was  all  there  the  morn- 
ing he  died,  as  it  had  been  that  blue  and  glad  morning  thirty 
years  before;  but  I  could  not  see  it  or  feel  it  with  him  lying- 
stretched  and  still  upon  the  bed.  It  is  dim  and  blurred,  and 
I  cannot  think  it  or  write  it  properly.  There  seemed  a  rime 
upon  the  window-panes;  the  hills  were  bare,  and  the  cup  of 


146  THE  EETIKED  MINISTER 

the  valley  lay  drained  and  empty  before  me,  with  the  shadow 
of  death  darkening  all  the  light  of  the  day.  I  remained  in 
the  little  house  between  the  hills,  walking  about,  attending 
to  my  few  wants,  receiving  an  occasional  visitor  in  a  sort 
of  trance  of  sorrow.  William  had  meant  more  to  me  than 
heaven.  I  had  endured  poverty,  prayers,  persecutions  and 
revivals  for  his  sake.  And  now  I  had  lost  him.  I  missed 
him  when  I  looked  down  the  bridle  path  into  the  valley,  and 
I  missed  him  when  I  looked  at  the  stars.  Nothing  meant 
anything  to  me  without  him. 


WHY  DO  WE  WAIT? 

Why  do  we  wait  till  ears  are  deaf 

Before  we  speak  our  kindly  word, 
And  only  utter  loving  praise 

When  not  a  whisper  can  be  heard? 

Why  do  we  wait  till  hands  are  laid 
Close-folded,  pulseless,  ere  we  place 

Within  them  roses,  sweet  and  rare. 
And  lilies  in  their  flawless  grace? 

Why  do  we  wait  till  eyes  are  sealed 

To  light  and  love  in  death's  deep  trance — 

Dear  wistful  eyes — before  we  bend 
Above  them  with  impassioned  glance? 

Why  do  we  wait  till  hearts  are  still 
To  tell  them  all  the  love  that's  ours, 

And  give  them  such  late  meed  of  praise. 
And  lay  above  them  fragrant  flowers? 

How  oft  do  we,  careless,  wait  till  life's 

Sweet  opportunities  are  past. 
And  break  our  "alabaster  box 

Of  ointment"  at  the  very  last! 

O,  let  us  heed  the  living  friend 

Who  walks  with  us  life's  common  ways, 

Watching  our  eyes  for  look  of  love, 
And  hungering  for  a  word  of  praise! 

— British  Weekly. 


A  RETIRING  COMPETENCY  FOR  THE 
RETIRED  MINISTER 


PART  II 
THE  CLAIM  FOREMOST 

THE  CHURCH'S 
PROGRAM  AND  BUSINESS 


The  Declaration  of  the  Church  that  the  Claim 
of  the  Retired  Minister  is  Foremost  in  the 
Churches  has  resulted  in  the  creation  of  regularly 
established  Boards  to  enable  the  Church  to  meet 
its  just  Obligation  to  provide  a  Retiring  Compe- 
tency. The  fact  that  the  Business  World  recog- 
nizes the  Principle  of  Old  Age  Pensions  for  Em- 
ployees reacts  helpfully  on  the  Churches. 


CHAPTER  I.  THE  CHURCH'S  PROGRAM 

PAGE 

1.  The  Foremost  Claim Pierson 149 

2.  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church McClure 151 

Prayer  for  Clergy  Relief.     McClure .  .  163 
Ministers    and    Horses.     Mcllvaine — 
Leslie's 164 

3.  The  Presbyterian  Church Foulkes 165 

Table  of  Annuity  Rates.     Foulkes ...  174 

4.  The  Presbyterian  Church  (Southern)  .  .     Sweets 175 

A  Sunset  Song.     Best 181 

Veterans    in    God's    Army.     Atlanta 
Constitution 182 

5.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.     Stewart 183 

Worn-out  Preachers.     Fitzgerald 191 

Superannuate       Endowment       Fund. 

Hoss.  .  . 192 

The  Church's  Obhgation.     Denny .  .  .  193 
General  Conference  Report 193 

6.  The  Baptist  Church Matteson 195 

7.  The  Congregational  Program Rice 205 

8.  The   Congregational  Church Loomis 207 

9.  Disciples  of  Christ Warren 213 

Touch  of  a  Vanished  Hand.     Troland.218 
The  Veteran's  Hand.     Welch 218 

10.  The  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church Woriman 219 

German  Baptists 221 

New  Zealand  Churches 222 

British  Wesleyans 222 

Jewish  Rabbis 223 

TheGist  of  It 224 

11.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church Hingeley 225 

Some  Beginnings 229 

The  Plan  in  1789 230 


THE  FOREMOST  CLAIM 

THE  REV.  ARTHUR  T.  PIERSON,  D.D. 


There  is  singular  unity  in  the  work  of  the  Church  not 
always  apprehended  even  fjy  her  members.  The  manifoldness 
of  that  l)enevolent  work  all  finds  a  center  of  revolution  in 
the  ministry.  If  the  aged  servants  of  God,  those  prematurely 
disabled,  or  the  families  of  those  who  have  died  in  the  work, 
are  left  to  want  and  destitution,  our  whole  system  is  wretch- 
edly and  inexcusably  defective. 

The  Hebrew  economy  was  in  advance  of  anything  that 
has  thus  far  characterized  the  Christian  Church.  The 
Levites,  set  apart  to  the  service  of  the  sanctuary,  were  pro- 
vided for  on  a  magnificent  scale.  Having  no  proper  inherit- 
ance among  the  Children  of  Israel,  they  nevertheless  were 
assured  from  any  possible  want  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave, 
and  their  widows  and  orphans  after  them.  The  abundant 
tithes  and  offerings,  the  levitical  cities  and  their  suburbs, 
and  the  sacredness  of  their  calling,  assured  to  all  those  who 
stood  before  the  Lord  to  minister  to  Him,  the  most  ample, 
continuous,  and  unfailing  supply  of  all  their  wants. 

For  Ourselves  We  Regard  This  as  Foremost  in  Its 
Claim  on  the  Churches. 

A  candidate  for  the  ministry  in  his  vigor  may  manage 
so  as  to  supplement  parental  aid  by  the  work  of  his  own 
hands,  or,  even  without  any  outside  help,  carry  on  his 
studies;  and  his  youthful  energy  may  bear  the  strain.  The 
minister,  in  the  prime  of  his  powers,  may  be  able  to  supple- 
ment a  small  salary  by  the  work  of  his  brawn  or  brain,  or  by 
rigid  economy  make  a  little  suffice.  But  when  old  age  or 
premature  decay  of  his  powers  disables  him  from  work  with 
mind  or  muscle,  who  shall  then  care  for  him  but  the  Church 
he  has  served? 

We  honestly  believe  that  to-day  nothing  hinders  young 
men  of  promise  from  entering  the  ministry  more  frequently 
than  the  prospect  of  no  provision  for  old  age,  or  of  a  family 

149 


150  THE  RETIRED  MIXISTER 

left  in  premature  dependence  without  a  head !  A  business 
man  out  of  his  business  success  gathers  a  provision  against 
these  exigencies.  But  most  ministers,  by  far  the  majority, 
have  barely  enough  to  support  their  families,  and  cannot 
lay  up  against  the  future.  They  ought  not  to  be  compelled 
to  do  so. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  the  ministry  can  never  be  and 
ought  never  to  be  a  money-making  profession.  We  believe 
God  never  meant  the  place  of  a  minister  to  be  ordinarily 
one  of  ample  means  or  elegant  luxury;  but  He  does  mean 
that  no  minister  should  be  "entangled  in  affairs  of  this  life"; 
and  to  prevent  tliis,  it  is  more  important  than  any  other  one 
thing  to  assure  every  servant  of  God  that  whatever  self-denial 
may  be  incident  to  the  days  of  his  actual  and  active  labor, 
when  the  day  of  work  is  over  he  shall  not  suffer  want  for  the 
necessities  of  life,  or,  if  prematurely  called  hence,  shall  not 
leave  a  wife  and  children  to  be  cast  on  the  charity  of  the  very 
Church  he  has  self-denyingly  served. 

It  is  an  insult  to  call  this  charity.  It  is  in  the  very  highest 
sense  a  debt,  and  should  be  so  honored  as  an  imperative  obli- 
gation owed  to  those  who  use  their  days  of  strength  in  the 
service  of  our  Lord;  and  no  blessing  can  be  expected  on  a 
Church  which  allows  the  veteran  soldier  of  Christ  to  go  down 
to  his  grave  like  an  inmate  of  a  poorhouse  or  a  dependent 
on  charity,  looking  for  a  miserable  pittance  l)estowed  as  on  a 
beggar,  for  the  bare  subsistence  of  life. 


"They  served  us  without  asking  any  questions,  in  the  per- 
formance of  a  duty  which  is  laid  upon  us  as  well  as  upon 
them.  Their  duty  had  nothing  to  do  with  them  or  with  their 
own  personal  and  peculiar  interests.  They  did  not  give  their 
lives  for  themselves;  they  gave  their  lives  for  us.  That 
is  the  way  in  which  men  grow  distinguished,  and  that  is  the 
only  way — by  serving  somebody  else  than  tliemselves.  A  war 
of  service  is  a  war  in  which  it  is  a  proud  thing  to  die." 

No;  President  Wilson  was  not  speaking  of  Retired  Minis- 
ters. He  was  speaking  of  the  Vera  Cruz  heroes.  But  he 
might  have  said  all  that,  and  more  too,  of  the  Veteran 
Preachers  and  their  "Cause  of  Justice  and  Benevolence." 


THE   CHURCH'S 
PROGRAM 

THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH 

THE  REV.  A.  J.  P.  McCLURE,  D.D. 

Treasurer  and  Financial  Agent 
General  Clergy  Relief  Fund 


Dr.  Agnew  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  ahnost  accu- 
rately truthful,  as  well  as  brilliant  and  witty,  when  he  said 
that  the  clergy  are  idolized  at  30;  criticized  at  40;  ostracized 
at  50;  Oslerized  at  60  and  canonized  at  70.  Such  a  pithy 
sketch  of  a  Minister's  career  deserves  a  place  in  our  anthology 
of  American  epigrams. 

You  have  asked  me  "to  state  what  is  being  done  by  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  to  provide  for  the  aged  and  dis- 
abled clergy,  and  the  widows  and  orphans."    I  answer  briefly. 

Early  Orgaxization 

The  Episcopal  Church  in  this  country  began  very  early  to 
consider  this  important  matter.  Indeed,  the  first  general 
meeting  of  Bishops,  clergy,  etc.,  was  called  to  consider  ways 
and  means  to  this  end. 

As  a  result  of  this  early  Conference,  semi-insurance  organ- 
izations diocesan  and  mutual  contributing  societies  of  various 
kinds  sprang  up.  I  mention  a  few  as  types  of  the  way  men's 
minds  were  working.  "The  Corporation  for  the  Relief  of 
the  Widows  and  Children  of  Clergymen  in  Communion  with 
the  Church  of  England  in  America,"  was  chartered  in  17()9 
in  the  Province  of  New  York.  The  title  was  changed  later 
so  as  to  read:  "The  Corporation  etc.  in  the  United  States  of 
America."  Still  later  the  title  was  changed  so  as  to  apply 
only  to  the  Diocese  of  New  York.  This  old  society,  requiring 
dues  from  the  clergy,  is  still  in  active  existence,  and  like 
others  of  the  same  kind,  which  split  off  from  the  original  or- 
ganization as  new  dioceses  were  formed  required  a  contribu- 
tion or  a  payment  of  a  specific  amount  from  church  or  clergy, 

X5X 


152  THE  KETll^ED  MINISTER 

or  the  payment  of  dues.  Other  societies  were  organized  as 
insurance  or  semi-insurance  companies.  Many  of  these  are 
still  in  existence,  as  for  instance  in  the  Dioceses  of  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Chi- 
cago, South  Carolina,  etc.  All  are  more  or  less  limited  both 
geographically  and  in  their  application  to  clergy,  widows  and 
orphans.  As  a  rule  they  are  unprogressive  and  the  amounts 
granted  are  inadequate;  usually  about  one  hundred  dollars 
per  annum.  One  of  the  best  of  these  old  societies  is  still  in 
existence  in  the  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania.  It  bears  a  tremend- 
ous name,  as  was  the  fashion  in  those  days:  "The  Corpora- 
tion for  the  Relief  of  the  Widows  and  Children  of  Clergymen 
in  Communion  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania."  It  was  organized  in  1769, 
and  has  built  up  a  large  capital  fund.  It  grants  insurance  to 
clergymen  for  their  widows  and  children  on  premiums  which 
are  about  one  half  those  required  by  regular  insurance  organ- 
izations. Although  this  corporation  is  pursuing  a  most  gen- 
erous and  liberal  policy,  permitting  the  payments  of  premiums 
to  cease  after  fifteen  years  and  making  grants  out  of  the  sur- 
plus to  especially  needy  widows  and  orphans  without  regard 
to  the  amount  of  the  original  insurance,  the  clergy  as  a  whole 
do  not  take  large  advantage  of  this  cheap  and  safe  insurance. 
The  clergy  are  and  ought  to  be  other-worldly  minded,  but  one 
suspects  that  some  of  them  drift  along  rather  helplessly  and 
do  not  exercise  ordinary  exemplary  thrift  in  these  matters. 

When  dioceses  began  to  form  and  split  oif  throughout  the 
Church  they  made  provision  for  those  within  their  bounds  by 
recommending  or  directing  that  an  annual  offering  be  taken 
in  all  the  parishes  and  missions  usually  at  Christmas  time; 
and  in  time  this  offering  came  to  be  known  as  the  Christmas 
Fund.  In  many  dioceses  this  fund  was  divided  into  two  parts, 
under  two  Boards,  permitting  a  choice  of  offering  on  the  part 
of  contributors  i.  e.,  a  fund  for  the  old  and  disabled  clergy, 
and  a  fund  for  the  widows  and  orphans.  At  one  time  there 
Avere  as  many  of  these  societies  as  there  were  dioceses  in  the 
Church.  Another  type  of  society,  bearing  the  title,  "The 
Clergyman's  Retiring  Eund  Society  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,''  was  founded 
in  1874.  Its  benefits  apply  only  to  the  clergy  who  reach  the 
age  of  GO ;  not  to  sick  and  disabled  clergymen  or  to  widows  and 


THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  153 

orphans;  nor  even  to  the  cler^-ynian's  estate.  The  dues  are 
$12,  $24  or  $3(5  per  year,  and  the  Society  pays  to  its  members 
when  they  reach  the  age  of  sixty  a  portion  of  the  interest  upon 
accumulated  funds  and  contributions,  in  accordance  with  the 
dues  paid  and  years  of  membership.  If  the  man  dies  before 
sixt}^  neither  his  widow  nor  his  orphans,  nor  his  estate  benefit 
by  his  connection  with  the  society.  As  is  evident  the  scope  of 
the  society  is  limited,  but  it  justifies  itself  by  declaring,  "This 
one  thing  we  do."  It  has  among  its  membership  a  goodly 
number  of  Bishops  and  clergy  who  pay  annual  dues,  and 
has  gathered  to  itself  a  permanent  fund  of  nearly  $100,000. 
x\nother  type  of  clerical  help  is  that  represented  by  the 
"Clergymen^s  Mutual  Insurance  League,'^  incorporated  in 
18G9.  Any  clergyman  over  forty-five  years  of  age  and  in  good 
health  may  become  a  member.  Upon  the  death  of  a  member, 
all  contribute  an  assessed  sum  to  be  given  to  the  widow. 

Cleiigy  Homes 

Besides  these  organizations,  we  have  also  various  homes, 
and  plans  for  homes  and  rest  houses,  and  lands  for  clerical 
cottages,  as  for  instance,  the  splendid  location  at  Pacific 
Grove,  California,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Diocese  of  Cali- 
fornia, where  cottages  can  be  built  on  land  furnished  by  the 
association.  There  is  also  the  modest  clergy  house  at  Saluda, 
North  Carolina;  and  the  plans  for  a  Clerical  Village  to  be 
built  in  connection  with  the  Cathedral  at  Washington;  a 
scheme  very  dear  to  my  heart  and  the  outgrowth  of  my  own 
suggestion.  A  large  sum  of  money  has  been  left  by  a  benevo- 
lent lady  for  carrying  out  this  idea.  The  plan  is  to  have  a  series 
of  cottages  within  the  Cathedral  Close,  built  in  harmony  with 
the  Cathedral  architecture,  into  which  may  be  translated  aged 
clergymen,  who  will  be  given  honorable  connection  with  the 
C^athedral  staff,  and  take  such  services  and  morning  and  eve- 
ning prayer  work  as  may  be  possible  for  them  to  do;  while  at 
other  times  they  may  fill  their  declining  days  with  much 
interest  through  having  access  to  the  great  libraries,  the  meet- 
ings of  Congress  and  other  events  in  the  capital  of  the  Nation. 

In  this  sketch  it  has  already  become  evident  that  the  Epis- 
copal Church  has  been  multiplying  organizations  according 
to  many  ideas.  There  have  been  and  still  are  in  all  parts 
of  the  Church  systems  and  schemes  supplementing  and  over- 


154  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

lapping  clergy  lielp  and  relief.  In  spite  of  ^Aliat  I  am  about 
to  tell  you,  conditions  are  still  rather  chaotic,  unbusiness- 
like, unjust  to  the  clergy  and  confusing  to  the  ordinary 
churchgoer,  who  is  not  sure  to  what  he  is  giving,  or  to  what 
local  or  general  or  special  or  insurance  or  general  society  he 
ought  to  contribute. 

General  Clergy  Relief  Fund 

And  this  leads  me  to  speak  of  "The  General  Clergy  Relief 
Fund,"  in  the  shaping  of  whose  methods  and  policy  and  work 
I  have  had  much  to  do.  As  the  Church  grew  and  spread  to 
missionary  fields,  foreign  and  domestic,  it  became  evident  that 
some  general  provision  ought  to  be  made  for  the  whole  Church, 
looking  toAvard  larger  cooperation  and  greater  justice,  and 
providing  for  those  in  missionary  jurisdictions,  which  are  not 
able  to  have  local  funds.  Therefore,  in  1853  there  was  insti- 
tuted a  general  society,  covering  the  whole  Church  and  bear- 
ing the  cumbersome  but  descriptive  name:  "The  Trustees  of 
the  Fund  for  the  Relief  of  Widows  and  Orphans  of  De- 
ceased Clergymen,  and  of  Aged,  Infirm  and  Disabled  Clergy- 
men of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United 
States  of  America."  This  General  Society  with  its  long, 
cumbersome,  descriptive  name  was  not  popular,  because  it 
seemed  to  confiict  with  diocesan  and  other  societies  that 
were  seeking  contributions  for  their  own  local  funds.  It  was 
not  pushed;  it  was  not  known  and  did  not  get  large  contri- 
butions. By  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  it  was  almost  ex- 
tinct and  forgotten.  But  the  problem  of  the  poorer  dio- 
ceses and  the  missionary  jurisdictions,  and  the  multiplied 
chaotic,  unchristlike  and  unbusinesslike  situation  still  re- 
mained. In  1871  at  the  General  Convention  of  the  Church, 
the  copyright  of  the  new  Hymnal  together  with  the  royalty 
upon  its  sales  was  turned  over  to  the  General  Society,  and 
the  trustees  were  made  a  committee  to  revise  and  prepare 
the  new  Hymnal  for  publication.  Some  of  the  older  clergy 
even  began  to  call  the  General  Society,  "The  Hymnal  Fund 
Committee" — an  easier  task  than  attempting  to  remember  the 
long  legal  name.  The  royalty  on  the  Hymnal  brought  in  quite 
a  sum  of  money,  and  the  General  Society  was  given  a  new 
start.  But  there  was  still  the  conflict  of  interest  between  the 
General  Fund  and  the  diocesan  funds.     The  local  funds  in 


THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  156 

order  to  protect  themselves  provided  certain  eligibility  tests. 
A  clergyman  must  have  been  in  a  diocese  a  certain  number 
of  years ;  he  must  have  been  officially  connected  with  the  dio- 
cese; he  must  have  had  a  church  in  the  diocese;  he  must  have 
liad  a  seat  or  vote  in  the  Diocesan  Convention;  he  must  have 
liad  a  record  of  a  series  of  annual  contributions,  etc.,  etc. 
Failing  in  any  one  of  these,  the  clergyman  or  the  clergyman's 
widow  and  children  found  themselves  at  the  critical  period 
unable  to  receive  help  from  the  fund  they  had  helped  build  up. 

Untfication'  of  Societies 

About  fourteen  years  ago  the  writer  of  this  paper  became 
the  active  agent  and  treasurer  of  the  General  Society.  His 
first  effort  was  to  point  out  the  advantages  of  the  unifica- 
tion of  all  societies  in  the  Church  and  the  injustice  of  the 
diocesan  system;  and  to  urge  inclusiveness  and  brotherly 
ideals  such  as  should  animate  Christians  in  doing  this  great 
and  necessary  work  for  the  whole  Church.  He  urged  the 
fact  that  the  clergy  are  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  whole 
Church,  not  to  a  diocese.  He  established  correspondence 
between  the  general  fund  and  all  kindred  funds  and  societies 
in  the  Church,  to  the  end  tliat  there  might  be  an  understand- 
ing and  a  practical  cooperation  between  all  the  agencies,  and 
a  general  bureau  which  should  record  all  that  was  done  by 
the  Church  in  the  matter  of  clergy  relief,  in  order  that  every- 
thing should  be  done  intelligently  and  in  the  most  efficient 
way.  The  diocesan  or  local  system  was  vigorously  attacked, 
and  to-day,  after  unaccountable  opposition  here  and  there, 
sixty-seven  of  the  eighty-odd  dioceses  and  missionary  juris- 
dictions have  merged  with  the  General  Society,  and  depend 
on  it  for  pension  and  relief. 

The  next  move  was  to  get  rid  of  the  old  and  cumbersome 
title  which  had  caused  no  end  of  confusion  in  legacies  and 
bequests  and  to  adopt  the  simple  and  inclusive  title  which 
•the  General  Society  now  bears,  viz:  "The  General  Clergy 
Relief  Fund.^^ 

The  advantages  of  unity  have  been  manifested  by  a  finer 
and  more  catholic  and  Christian  spirit  in  the  whole  iDusiness; 
greater  definiteness,  system  and  unity  in  pressing  the  matter 
upon  the  whole  Church;  larger  interest  and  larger  offerings; 
less  expense  in  management;  but  above  all  in  a  simple,  just 


156  THE  RETIRED  MmiSTER 

and  uniform  system  of  making  grants  and  providing  pension 
and  relief.  In  making  grants  the  trustees  assume  a  definite 
responsibility  to  provide  a  definite  sum.  This  means  that 
there  must  be  definiteness  and  even  superfluity  of  resources. 
Offerings  from  individuals  and  churches  and  dioceses  fluctu- 
ate. Hard  times  or  local  depression  lessen  the  amount  of 
the  offerings.  Legacies  and  bequests  are  irregular.  An  en- 
dowment fund  was  necessary  and  was  agitated  for  years.  Fi- 
nally, in  1907,  a  commission  w^as  created  to  raise  an  Endow- 
ment Fund  of  five  million  dollars  for  the  whole  of  clergy  relief, 
that  is,  for  the  old  and  disabled  clergy,  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  clergy,  the  family  unit,  and  for  pensions  at  sixty-four  years, 
as  the  canons  specify. 

Automatic  Pexsions  at  Sixty-Four 

Some  years  before  the  Convention  which  took  this  action, 
the  present  Treasurer  and  Financial  Agent  had  discovered  a 
desire  on  the  part  of  some  to  contribute  to  a  fund  to  be  set 
aside  by  the  General  Society,  the  interest  to  be  used  solely 
as  a  pension  for  every  clergyman  who  had  reached  the  age  of 
sixty-four,  without  regard  to  disability  or  other  limitation, 
and  had  inaugurated  such  a  fund,  and  called  it  "The  Fund  for 
x^utomatic  Pensions  at  Sixty-Four.^^  Shortly  after  the  com- 
mission appointed  to  raise  the  five  million  dollar  endowment 
began  work,  it  decided  to  use  the  money  so  raised  simply  for 
Automatic  Pensions  at  Sixty-Four,  making  the  effort  a 
straightout  pension  proposition.  But  the  Church  was  not 
ready  to  devote  so  large  a  sum  to  that  one  purpose.  The 
ideal,  no  doubt,  was  fine,  but  the  current  needs  of  the  dis- 
abled clergy,  widows  and  orphans  were  pressing  and  besides 
a  more  definite  system  was  required  for  the  whole  business. 
Consequently,  the  effort  did  not  meet  with  the  success  ex- 
pected, and  at  the  last  General  Convention  in  New  York  the 
commission  asked  to  be  excused,  in  view  of  the  new  and  com- 
prehensive plan  which  will  be  explained  later. 

How  is  the  money  provided  for  the  current  work  of  the 
General  Clergy  Relief  Fund?  After  years  of  agitation  and 
suggestion  the  General  Convention  ordered  that  every  parish, 
mission  and  congregation  should  take  up  an  annual  offering. 
This  requirement  is  more  or  less  observed  throughout  the 
Church;   but,   alas,   there   is   neither   penalty   nor   sufficient 


THE  EPISCOPAL  CIIUKCH  157 

authority  to  compel  contributions !  Many  of  the  dioceses, 
while  adopting  the  order  and  recommendation  of  the  General 
Convention,  have  retained  their  old  custom  of  an  offering  at 
Christmas  time.  Others  have  selected  Thanksgiving;  some 
Quinquagesima  or  Charity  Sunday  because  of  the  Collect  used 
on  that  day;  others  Good  Friday,  Easter  or  All  Saints  Day. 
This  irregularity  is  rather  an  advantage  as  it  brings  in  money 
throughout  the  year,  making  it  easier  to  send  appeals  to 
the  churches,  to  circularize  the  clergy  and  to  do  the  account- 
ing work.  It  also  provides  money  at  desirable  intervals 
for  quarterly  payments  to  beneficiaries.  Another  provision  of 
the  General  Convention  was  to  recommend  that  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  communion  alms  received  at  every  admin- 
istration of  the  Holy  Communion  be  set  aside  and  sent  to 
the  treasurer  of  the  General  Clergy  Eelief  Fund.  These  offer- 
ings, together  with  the  royalties  on  the  standard  Hymnal  and 
on  the  Mission  Hymnals,  are  the  sources  of  income. 

Beneficiaries 

As  to  who  may  be  pensioners  or  beneficiaries,  tlie  canon  or 
system  of  rules  under  which  the  trustees  work  reads : 

"The  widow  of  any  deceased  clergyman,  remaining  un- 
married, the  children  of  any  deceased  clergyman  until  they 
have  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  unless  they  shall 
have  married  before  that  age,  and  any  clergyman  perma- 
nently disabled,  or  having  reached  the  age  of  sixty-four  years, 
shall  be  entitled  in  the  discretion  of  the  trustees  to  share  in 
the  benefits  of  this  fund.  All  applications  to  the  trustees 
shall  have  the  written  recommendation  of  the  Bishop,  or,  in 
case  there  be  no  Bishop,  of  the  clerical  members  of  the  stand- 
ing committee  of  the  diocese  or  missionary  district  to  which 
the  applicant  may  belong." 

The  procedure  is  something  like  this:  A  clergyman  or 
widow  or  orphan  applies  or  application  is  made  for  them  by  the 
Bishop  or  by  some  clergyman  or  friend,  and  a  form  for 
information  is  sent  to  the  applicant  to  be  filled  and  sent  to 
the  Bishop  for  his  endorsement.  It  then  comes  before  the 
trustees,  and  a  grant  is  made  as  speedily  and  as  generously 
as  the  funds  permit.  Grants  up  to  six  hundred  dollars  per 
year  for  current  need  (disability  through  sickness  of  young 
or  old  clergy,  and  to  the  widows  and  orphans)  go  out  to  any 


158  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

reputable  clergyman  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  quick  re- 
sponse to  the  call,  and  they  go  into  all  dioceses  and  into 
several  foreign  countries  in  which  the  applicants  are  living. 
There  is  but  little  red-tape  and  a  maximum  of  humanity, 
Christianity  and  helpfulness.  There  are  no  fees,  no  dues, 
no  geographical  limitations,  no  physical  examinations  nor  age 
requirements;  except  that  the  interest-pension  checks  from 
the  special  fund  for  Automatic  Pensions  at  Sixty-Pour  go  out 
only  to  men  who  are  sixty-four  years  old  or  over,  without 
regard  to  need  but  only  to  years  of  honorable  service. 

The  General  Society  is  doing  a  wide  and  gracious  work 
which  is  abundantly  certified  to  by  thousands  of  grateful  and 
appreciative  letters.  It  has  awakened  the  Church,  and  indeed 
other  Christian  bodies,  to  an  active  interest  and  effort  to 
solve  the  whole  problem  of  clerical  support  and  pension  and 
relief.  The  present  condition  of  the  General  Clergy  Relief 
Fund  is  indicated  by  the  following  statement  of  one  of  the 
trustees  made  to  the  last  General  Convention.    I  quote : 

"It  is  the  most  encouraging  report  that  we  have  ever  pre- 
sented to  any  General  Convention.  We  call  especial  atten- 
tion to  the  total  receipts  of  $678,243.44,  to  the  total  appro- 
priations to  beneficiaries  of  $306,882.40,  and  to  the  low  ratio 
of  expense  of  administration — five  and  eight  tenths  per  cent. 
When  the  present  treasurer  began  his  work  we  were  receiv- 
ing from  churches  and  individuals  about  $43,000  in  three 
years;  now  a  total  from  all  sources  of  nearly  $700,000.  When 
the  present  treasurer  began  we  v/ere  paying  about  $76,000  in 
three  years  to  beneficiaries ;  now,  over  $306,000.  During  the 
term  of  the  present  treasurer  we  have  paid  to  beneficiaries  a 
total  of  over  $800,000  and  nearly  a  million  and  a  half  dollars 
have  passed  through  the  treasurer's  hands  for  current  pen- 
sion and  relief,  and  for  investment.  In  fact,  receipts  and 
payments  to  beneficiaries  have  nearly  been  doubled  in  every 
report  made  to  the  General  Convention  during  his  term.  The 
capital  funds  of  $90,000  are  now  over  $600,000.  The  bene- 
ficiaries on  the  list,  then  about  80,  are  now  669.  Then  no 
dioceses  had  merged;  now  67  are  depending  entirely  upon  the 
General  Clergy  Relief  Pund.'' 

Church  Pension  Pund 
In  conclusion,  let  me  outline  briefly  the  scientific  and  busi- 


THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  159 

ness  plan  which  has  been  prepared  by  our  new  Commission 
and  which  is  now  before  all  the  dioceses  for  adoption  or  rejec- 
tion. All  our  efforts  have  been  working  up  to  this  plan.  The 
dioceses  have  been  merged,  the  work  has  been  unified  and 
Christianized,  that  is,  made  less  selfish  and  local;  the  vision 
of  a  service  pension  has  l)een  thrown  before  the  eyes  of  the 
Church  in  the  phrase,  "Automatic  Pensions  at  Sixty-Four"; 
the  awkward  name  changed  to  the  unifying  inclusive  one, 
"The  General  Clergy  Eelief  Fund";  and  knowledge  and  high 
ideals  have  been  implanted.  The  new,  all-embracing  scien- 
tific plan  has  been  widely  noticed  and  heralded  as  epoch 
making.  The  commission  appointed  by  our  General  Con- 
vention in  1910  "to  consider  the  whole  problem  of  clerical  sup- 
port, pension  and  relief"  had  the  good  fortune  to  secure  an 
expert  from  the  Carnegie  Foundation,  and  the  whole  subject 
has  been  thoroughly  worked  out  upon  the  basis  of  facts 
secured  by  the  commission  from  the  clergy  and  others,  upon 
which  are  based  the  actuarial  calculations.  It  is  proposed 
under  the  new  system  to  make  all  grants  of  pension  and 
relief  under  exact  rules,  not  only  in  order  that  every  clergy- 
man may  receive  his  pension  provision  without  sacrifice  of 
dignity,  and  that  all  suspicion  of  partiality  may  be  removed 
from  the  pension  administration,  but  in  order  that  the 
Church  may  know  exactly  what  its  pension  budget  will  be, 
and  so  provide  resources  which  will  meet  the  needs.  A  funda- 
mental proposition  of  the  commission  is  that  pension  and 
relief  must  not  be  considered  as  a  subsidiary  or  a  by-work  of 
the  Church,  but  must  be  considered  as  a  vital  and  consider- 
ahle  part  of  all  direct  salaries  and  support.  Therefore,  inas- 
much as  pension  and  relief  require  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  active  salary,  this  proportion  must  be  provided  in  the  same 
manner  that  the  salary  is  provided ;  that  is,  that  every  organ- 
ization in  the  Church,  parochial,  diocesan  or  otherwise,  that 
pays  a  salary  or  a  stipend  or  a  remuneration  to  a  clergyman 
must  automatically  increase  its  appropriations  by  a  certain 
fixed  percentage,  the  increase  to  provide  a  pension  for  the 
clergyman  and  his  family.  By  sucli  a  method  when  money 
is  needed  to  pay  the  pension,  the  money  will  be  on  hand. 

The  retirement  age  is  set  at  sixty-eight  and  the  pension 
provision  is  one  and  one  fourth  per  cent  of  the  average  sti- 
pend received  by  the  clergyman  since  the  time  of  his  ordina- 


160  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

tion  multiplied  by  the  years  of  stipend.  This  means  in  gen- 
eral about  half  the  average  stipend  for  those  clergymen  who 
are  ordained  at  the  usual  age,  and  reach  sixty-eight  years  of 
age  and  have  work  and  place  during  that  time.  Tlie  system 
provides  also  that  for  those  disabled  before  the  retirement 
age  a  pension  shall  be  granted  amounting  to  forty  per  cent 
of  the  last  stipend.  To  the  widow  of  a  c-lergyman  it  is  pro- 
posed to  grant  an  annuity  equal  to  one  half  the  pension  the 
husband  would  have  been  entitled  to  during  marriage,  with 
a  minimum  of  $300  per  year,  provided  that  the  marriage 
took  place  before  the  husband's  retirement.  For  minor 
orphans  of  clergymen  it  is  proposed  to  pay  $100  for  each 
child  under  seven  years;  $200  for  each  child  between  seven 
and  fourteen  years;  and  $300  for  each  dependent  minor  over 
fourteen  years  old. 

Sufficient  money  for  this  system,  it  is  estimated,  will  be 
provided  by  assessing  about  seven  and  one  half  per  cent  on 
the  salaries  of  all  clergy,  to  be  paid  into  the  central  pension 
fund  not  by  the  clergy  themselves  but  by  the  dioceses.  A 
very  original  feature  is  the  sharp  segregation  of  what  is 
called  "The  Fund  for  Accrued  Liabilities''  from  "The  Fund 
for  the  Continuing  Liabilities,"  wdiich  is  only  for  those  who 
are  ordained  after  the  plan  is  put  in  operation. 

In  other  words,  the  complete,  scientific  and  self-supporting 
pension  system  will  apply  only  to  those  men  who  are  ordained 
after  it  goes  into  operation.  The  present  clergy  upon  the 
list  are  to  be  provided  for  by  a  lump  sum  of  three  and  a  half 
millions  of  dollars  raised  for  what  has  been  called  the  "Ac- 
crued Liabilities."  The  insistence  upon  the  separation  of  the 
"Accrued  Liabilities"  from  the  "Continuing  Liabilities"  has 
been  unflinching,  because  careful  investigation  has  shown 
that  most  pension  systems  have  had  hard  sledding  at  the 
eleventh  year  after  their  establishment.  At  that  time  there 
is  such  an  accumulation  of  accrued  and  continuing  liabilities 
as  to  make  it  necessary  either  to  raise  more  money  or  adopt 
a  new  system.  The  "Accrued  Liabilities  Fund"  will  not  pro- 
vide as  large  a  pension  as  the  pension  system  itself  when  it 
fully  gets  into  operation ;  and  alas !  even  under  this  latter 
one  and  one  fourth  per  cent  of  the  salaries  of  the  clergy 
divided  by  the  years  of  service  will  not  bring  in  a  sufficient 
pension  allowance  ])ef()i'e  twenty-five  or  thirty  years.     Such 


THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  161 

is  the  penalty  of  delay  in  adopting  a  system  that  will  stand 
alone  and  grow  as  the  Church  grows.  A  minimum  pension 
of  six  hundred  dollars  per  year  and  a  maximum  of  two  iliou- 
sand  dollars  has  heen  ordered;  the  average  will  he  a])out  eight 
hundred  or  nine  hundred  dollars. 

The  new  Church  Pension  Fund,  huilt  upon  these  lines, 
proposes  to  deal  with  the  dioceses  in  making  the  required 
assessments;  emphasizing  the  fact  that  if  there  is  no  pay 
there  will  ])e  no  pension.  A  record  and  account  will  bo 
kept  with  every  clergyman  as  to  his  age  at  ordination,  date 
of  marriage,  wife's  age,  number  and  ages  of  children,  salary 
at  each  period,  when  employed,  etc.,  etc.  Each  diocese  will  be 
notified  annually  from  these  statistics  and  from  actuarial  cal- 
culations of  the  men  in  the  dioceses  who  will  reach  the  retiring 
age,  the  number  of  widows  and  orphans,  the  number  per- 
manently disabled,  etc.  In  other  words  the  financial  require- 
ment for  the  year  will  be  accurately  indicated  to  each  diocese, 
and  the  diocese  must  assess  this  amount  upon  its  churches, 
reducing  its  assessment  by  the  interest  upon  any  endowment 
funds  it  may  have.  If  there  is  a  deficit  on  the  part  of  some 
of  the  churches  it  will  reduce  the  pension  and  relief  grants 
to  individuals  in  that  particular  diocese  by  so  much. 

Such  is  only  the  barest  outline  of  an  admirable  piece  of 
work  by  the  commission  and  its  expert  secretary.  The  scheme 
has  been  presented  in  part  to  the  various  dioceses  and  until 
the  meeting  of  the  General  Convention  in  1916  it  will  be 
carefully  considered.  The  whole  scheme  is  scientific  and  busi- 
nesslike and  seems  from  the  scientific  point  of  view  to  be  per- 
fect and  without  an  alternative.  The  immediate  inference 
from  this  statement  of  the  new  Church  Pension  Fund  scheme 
is  that  those  who  have  small  salaries  will  receive  small  pen- 
sions, and  that  those  who  receive  large  salaries  will  receive 
large  pensions,  and,  therefore,  the  question  will  arise  whether 
it  will  not  produce  self-seeking  and  work  as  a  penalty  upon 
self-denial,  and  the  willingness  of  men  to  go  to  hard  places 
where  salaries  are  small  and  irregular,  even  though  the  har- 
vest is  great.  It  is  a  question,  also,  whether  this  essentially 
Christian  enterprise  can  safely  be  taken  out  of  the  realm  of 
])ractical  Christian  charity  and  made  simply  a  scientific,  me- 
chanical business  matter,  ol)serving  only  tlie  hard  natural  law 
of  supply  and  demand:  "To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given/' 


102  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

Perhaps  in  the  Church  we  need  to  remember  and  observe  a 
higlier  spiritual  law,  namely,  "Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens 
and  so  fulfill  the  law  of  Christ."  Of  course,  all  we  do  in  the 
Church  should  be  done  with  regard  to  strict  business  efficiency 
and  integrity,  but  the  Church  is  not  a  business  enterprise  as  is 
a  railroad  or  a  corporation  in  the  sense  of  being  a  money-mak- 
ing organization  or  in  having  a  regular  scale  of  salary  for 
officers  of  different  grades.  However,  it  may  be  found  that 
there  is  more  justice  and  humanity,  as  a  whole,  in  the  defi- 
niteness  and  liberality  which  will  be  provided  by  an  adherence 
to  strictly  scientific  and  business  methods.  It  would  seem, 
however,  that  even  after  the  Church  has  provided  pension  and 
relief  for  the  clergy  and  widows  on  the  basis  of  years  of 
service  and  the  amount  of  their  salaries  while  in  service, 
there  will  still  remain  special  requirements  which  may  justly 
arouse  generous  impulses  and  call  for  special  help. 

VlSIOJ^  OF  UXTTY 

My  brethren,  1  bid  you  Godspeed  and  success  in  your  own 
great  enterprise.  You  will  succeed,  I  am  sure.  The  vigorous, 
virile,  energetic  way  you  Methodists  have  of  attacking  this 
and  other  problems  is  stimulating  and  worthy  of  imitation. 
Your  Church  has  grown  greater  and  more  effective  in  many 
respects  than  its  mother,  and  I  am  glad  and  proud  to  have 
the  approval  of  such  a  Church  by  your  workers  in  the  same 
line,  through  the  use  of  many  of  my  circulars  and  leaflets 
and  writings,  and  by  the  honor  of  this  call  to  stand  before 
you  and  tell  you  of  our  efforts  and  accomplishments  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  Perhaps  before  long  this  inter- 
conmiunication  will  lead  us  to  larger,  finer  and  more  truly 
Christian  things.  I  wish  I  had  the  time  and  the  eloquence 
to  tell  you  of  the  noble  vision  of  largeness  and  unity  which 
a  half  dozen  or  more  of  us,  representatives  of  clergy  relief 
societies  in  various  denominations,  were  permitted  to  see  and 
live  with  for  a  whole  winter,  as  we  met  under  the  call  and 
plan  and  stimulus  of  your  Dr.  Crandall  J.  North.  The  story 
has  never  been  told  in  public.  Methodist,  Baptist,  Lutheran, 
German  Reformed,  Presbyterian,  Episcopalian  secretaries 
and  treasurers  and  other  representatives  doing  this  same  work 
in  our  separate  bodies,  met  in  New  York  and  prayed  and 
talked  and  devised  a  large  scheme  for  a  great  Union  Eounda- 


THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  163 

tion  to  be  established  for  all  churches;  a  plan  which  if  we 
could  have  carried  it  through  would  have  done  more  for  Chris- 
tian unity  than  many  loose  federations.  0,  that  the  Lord 
had  opened  the  eyes  of  the  rich  men  and  women  we  appealed 
to  and  had  permitted  them  to  see  this  vision  and  what  it 
would  lead  to  aside  from  the  material  plans  for  help.  It  was 
a  great  vision.  My  honored  friend,  Dr.  North,  may  yet  be 
canonized  for  this  at  70  if  he  is  not  Oslerized  before  that  time. 

It  was  a  delight  and  inspiration  to  work  and  think,  if 
only  for  a  few  hours  each  week,  with  men  of  one  mind,  filled 
with  earnestness  on  this  subject.  We  railed  and  declaimed, 
without  quit  or  hindrance  of  missionary  boards  or  of  the 
sound  of  the  grinding  of  the  ecclesiastical  machinery,  at  the 
curious  Christianity  that  was  all  the  time  asking  for  more 
money  to  send  more  men  to  the  front,  and  was  forgetting  or 
neglecting  those  who  had  been  at  the  front,  but  who  are  now 
on  the  Honor  Roll  of  the  invalid  corps.  But  through  it  all 
we  caught  the  vision  of  what  was  to  be  when  God^s  kingdom 
should  come. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  Alfred  J.  P.  McClure. 


Reaper  for  tlje  (general  Clergp  Belief  :f  unb 

y^  ICorb  HTesfujf  CtjriJft,  Cfiou  gracioujS  ^Jjepfjerb  anb  Jgisftjop 
^^  of  our  goulfii,  toe  bEjfcetl)  Cljee  for  Cfjp  mtmsterina  serbant£f, 
noto  ageb  anb  infirm,  anb  no  longer  atile  to  toorb  afi  actibe 
laborerfit  in  Cfjp  binr parb.  Heabc  tfjcm  not,  ncitfter  for^afce  tfjcm 
in  tftisf  tfjeir  ijour  of  temporal  toant  anb  bistresfS.  09tn  tfje 
fjeartjS  anb  fjanbfli  of  ?Cbp  people  for  tfjeir  support  anb  comfort, 
tfjat  tfjeir  patfjtoap  to  tfjc  grabe  map  be  free  from  all  toorlblp 
carefi  anb  anxieties^.  Utt  tbe  funb  tofjicfj  Efjp  Cfjurcfj  fjasf 
egtablifltfjeb  for  tfjeir  relief  be  increasfeb  manp  folb,  tfjat  neitfjcr 
tfjep  nor  tfjeir  fjelplegs!  bjibokosf  anb  orpfjanfi  map  eber  come  to 
toant  or  fjabe  cause  to  complain  of  our  neglect,  but  aS  tfje 
members  of  one  familp  anb  fjousefjolb  of  faitfj.  map  toe  rejoice 
togetfjer  in  tEi)V  1°^^  sifjeb  abroab  in  our  fjearts  tfjrougfj  tfje 
same  Sftiui  Cfjrist,  our  most  JSlesseb  ILorb  anb  ^abiour. 
iSmen. 


164  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

MINISTERS  AND  HORSES 

It  pays  better  to  be  a  faithful  horse  than  a  faithful  min- 
ister when  old  age  comes  on.  "Many  a  man,"  said  the  Rev. 
J.  H.  Mcllvaine,  addressing  Episcopal  laymen  at  Pittsburgh, 
"makes  better  provision  for  an  old  liorse  than  is  made  by  the 
Church  for  her  old  ministers."  As  this  is  not  hyperbole,  but 
literal  truth,  it  is  a  severe  indictment  of  the  churches.  Dr. 
Mcllvaine  cited  his  own  denomination — the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal— which,  though  not  the  largest  numerically,  is  one  of 
the  wealthiest  in  the  country,  and  yet  which  gives  only  nine 
or  ten  cents  per  member  to  the  support  of  its  old  and  worn-out 
clergy.  He  welcomed  the  coming  of  the  business  man  to  the 
front  in  our  churches,  because  in  this  way  finances  would  be 
put  on  a  business  basis.  Would  it  not  be  possible  to  interest 
the  laymen  in  these  old  soldiers  of  the  Church,  who  have 
fought  their  last  fight,  but  who  ought  to  be  able  to  spend  the 
few  remaining  years  of  life  without  coming  to  actual  want? 

We  are  busy  discussing  pensions  for  school  teachers,  public 
servants  and  veteran  workers  of  all  kinds.  Would  not  an 
agitation  for  better  pensions  for  old  preachers  be  in  order? 
Surely  the  ministry  is  not  a  more  selfish  or  remunerative 
calling  than  the  others.  Thirty  men,  contributing  outright 
$3,000,000,  have  established  in  New  York  the  New  Theater, 
designed  to  cultivate  the  highest  and  best  in  dramatic  art, 
free  from  any  sort  of  influence  from  the  box  office.  No  divi- 
dends are  to  be  paid,  but  any  profits  accruing  are  to  go  toward 
a  permanent  fund  devoted  to  the  enlargement  of  the  original 
enterprise.  The  drama  needs  to  be  fostered  in  just  the  way 
the  New  Theater  plans  to  do  it,  and  we  have  no  criticism  of 
the  princely  philanthropy  back  of  the  project.  But  we  raise 
the  question,  If  thirty  men  in  New  York  can  give  $3,000,000 
for  the  stage,  are  there  not  throughout  the  country  one  hun- 
dred millionaires  who  could  together  put  up  a  $10,000,000 
fund  to  pension  old  and  needy  ministers?  Business  men  of 
the  churches,  here  is  a  practical  proposition.  We  believe  you 
can  put  it  through. — Leslie's  Weekly. 


^       THE   CHURCH'S 

I^mm  ^^^'  V| 

1           PROGRAM 

I^^IIh  '^^"            M 

I           THE  PRESBYTERIAN 

l^^Hlft  ^^             il 

Hf                        CHURCH 

^[^Hhr   ^jM 

W       THE  REV.  W.  H.  FOULKES,  D.D. 

^^LW 

General  Secretary  Ministerial  Relief  and 
Sustentation 

For  nearly  two  centuries,  the  Presl)yterian  Church  has 
given  attention  to  this  fundamental  Cause  which  represents 
the  duty  of  the  Church  of  Christ  to  the  Retired  Ministry. 

In  Colonial  days  the  dreadful  distress  of  many  honored  men 
of  the  Ministry,  who  were  left  in  their  old  days  without  any 
means  of  support,  and  the  special  distress  of  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  the  faithful  servants  of  the  Church,  appealed 
strongly  to  the  sense  of  justice  and  duty  in  the  hearts  of 
God's  people,  and  many  were  seeking  some  practical  means 
of  doing  what  all  felt  should  be  done  for  the  honor  of  the 
Church  and  the  relief  of  her  suffering  servants. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  in  1717^ 
"A  Fund  for  Pious  Uses"  was  established.  A  treasurer  was 
elected  to  receive  contributions,  and  the  Synod  disposed  of 
the  money  at  its  own  discretion.  Tliis  Fund  was  intended 
for  Home  Missionary  work,  to  aid  a  school  in  Philadelphia, 
for  such  other  objects  as  the  Synod  might  determine,  and 
for  the  relief  of  disabled  Ministers  and  their  families,  and 
the  first  appropriation  from  the  Fund,  of  which  we  have 
any  record,  was  made  in  1721  for  the  relief  of  two  widows  of 
Ministers. 

Board  of  Relief 

After  a  century  and  a  half  of  loosely  organized  work,  on 
May  29,  1876,  the  General  Assembly  organized  the  Board 
of  Ministerial  Relief,  which  has  for  its  cumbersome  title, 
the  caption  "The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Relief  for  Disabled 
Ministers,  and  the  Widows  and  Orphans  of  Deceased  Min- 
isters." The  purpose  for  which  this  corporation  was  formed 
was  to   receive,  hold  and  disburse   such  real  and   personal 

165 


166  THE  EETIKED  MINISTER 

estate  as  may  be  given' to  it  for  the  relief  and  support  of  dis- 
abled Ministers  and  the  needy  Widows  and  Orphans  of  De- 
ceased ^linisters  of  said  Church.  From  the  date  of  this 
organization  until  this  day,  the  Board  of  Relief  has  grown  in 
favor  with  the  Church.  Its  appeal  has  been  one  that  has 
touched  the  heart  of  Presbyterianism.  Its  policy  has  been 
to  secure,  by  means  of  annual  contributions  from  the  Church, 
legacies  and  individual  donations,  a  suflicient  sum  of  money 
to  meet  in  some  way  the  need  of  the  aged  and  disabled  serv- 
ants of  the  Church ;  but  while  the  Board  of  Relief  has  thus,  to 
a  certain  extent,  met  the  need  of  the  disabled  ministry  of 
Presbyterianism,  it  has  never  overtaken  that  need.  It  has 
attempted  to  do  an  impossible  thing,  namely,  to  meet  relative 
need  upon  the  basis  of  annual  appeals  therefor. 

SUSTENTATION 

As  a  result  of  this  failure  and,  in  part,  as  a  result  of  con- 
servative policies  on  the  part  of  the  Board,  the  General  As- 
sembly in  1909  organized  the  Ministerial  Sustentation  Fund, 
which  embodied  the  contributory  pension  idea,  and  which 
permitted  Ministers,  by  making  a  regular  annual,  semi- 
annual or  quarterly  payment,  to  provide  in  part  for  their  own 
day  of  disability.  The  maximum  benefits  of  the  Sustenta- 
tion Fund  are  $500  a  year  during  lifetime  for  every  man 
who  has  reached  the  age  of  seventy  and  who  has  served  the 
Presbyterian  Church  thirty  full  years.  For  the  Mmister  w^ho 
has  reached  the  age  of  seventy,  without  having  served  thirty 
full  years  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  a  maximum  pension 
of  $100  for  the  first  five  years  of  his  ministry,  plus  $10  for 
every  year's  service  thereafter.  For  the  Minister  who  has 
become  disabled,  whatever  his  age,  a  maximum  pension  of 
$100  for  the  first  five  years  of  his  ministry,  plus  $10  for  every 
-additional  year.  A  maximum  pension  of  three  fifths  of  the 
amount  to  wdiich  her  husband  would  have  been  entitled  or 
was  receiving  is  to  be  paid  to  every  widow,  or  if  no  widow 
survive  him,  to  be  divided  between  the  dependent  children,  if 
any,  of  the  deceased  member  of  the  Fund.  The  principle  of 
the  Fund  is  that  the  Minister's  own  payments  provide  one 
fifth  of  the  maximum  pension,  and  the  contributions  of  the 
churches,  by  means  of  gifts  to  the  Endowment  Fund  and 
otherwise,     are  made  to  swell  the  total  annuity  up  to  the 


THE  PEESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  167 

maximum  amount.  Already  the  Church  has  provided  enough 
money  on  the  basis  of  nearly  a  thousand  Ministers  who 
are  paying  rates  to  the  Sustentation  Department  to  make  pos- 
sible the  payment  of  60  per  cent  of  the  maximum  pension  to 
the  disabled  members  of  the  Fund. 

For  a  number  of  years  after  the  formation  of  the  Susten- 
tation Fund  there  was,  I  regret  to  say,  friction  between  these 
two  agencies,  each  of  which  was  seeking  the  same  general 
result,  though  in  different  ways,  but  in  1912  the  General 
Assembly  combined  these  agencies  under  the  title  of  "The 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  and  Sustentation"; 
both  charters  remaining  intact  and  both  corporations  being 
administered  in  law  by  the  same  Board  of  Directors  and  the 
same  executive  officers.  To-day  Presbyterianism  faces  its 
great  task  of  providing  for  its  aged  and  disabled  servants 
with  a  harmonious  and  complete  plan;  on  the  one  side  Relief, 
which  is  the  ambulance  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  which  will  con- 
tinue to  provide  for  those  who  may  have  need  in  the  day  of 
their  dependency;  on  the  other  hand  Sustentation,  which  will 
growingly  assist  men  now  young  to  provide  in  part  for  their 
disability  or  old  age,  thus  building  a  fence  around  the  top  of 
the  hill  of  disability. 

Relief 

The  Relief  Department  of  the  Board  of  Relief  and  Sus- 
tentation is  organized  to  give  gracious  relief  to  those  who  in 
their  service  have  come  to  need.  There  is  no  badge  of  shame 
in  their  necessity.  It  is  the  brand  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Those 
Christians  who  speak  contemptuously  of  the  "poor  minister" 
may  well  ask  themselves  whether  after  all  they  are  not  merely 
"badge  wearers,"  while  the  Minister  is  a  iDranded  servant 
"drinking  His  Lord's  cup"  with  Him.  For  over  a  hundred 
years  the  Church  has  gathered  and  has  given  this  sacred 
relief.  It  has  never  met  all  the  absolute  need  of  the  Veterans 
of  the  cross.  They  have  borne  the  most  of  it  themselves. 
The  Church  has  measurably  met  relative  need.  The  Board 
of  Relief  has  gathered  what  the  Church  would  give  and  has 
given  it  as  widely  as  it  could,  but  the  Church  has  never  given 
one  tenth  enough  to  meet  the  need  fully  and  honorably. 
The  gifts  of  the  Church  have  never  overtaken  the  wants  of 
the  saints.     The  Presbyterian  Church  last  year  provided  for 


168  THE  JJETIJJED  MINISTER 

practically  two  thousand  dependent  Ministers,  missionaries 
and  their  families,  seven  hundred  of  whom  were  widows. 

During  the  current  year  the  Relief  Department  has  appro- 
priated approximately  $30,000  more  than  last  year,  while  the 
Church  has  only  given  approximately  $7,000  more  than  last 
year.  It  would  be  the  height  of  folly  to  deprive  those  who 
are  now  disabled  in  order  to  provide  for  the  Ministry  of  a 
half  century  hence.  The  disabled  Ministry  of  to-day  must 
be  cared  for  now  and  first.  The  fact  that  last  year  only  four 
churches  out  of  ten  gave  to  the  relief  of  these  disabled  serv- 
ants indicates  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  must  "go  on  to 
perfection.^^  The  Pension  Department  of  Ministerial  Relief 
and  Sustentation  is  steadily  growing.  If  the  Church  were  to 
attempt  to  establish  in  one  year  a  pension  plan  to  protect  all 
her  Ministers,  and  were  able  to  compel  every  Minister  to 
contribute  his  part,  she  would  have  to  invest  many  millions 
of  dollars  all  at  once.  By  the  present  plan,  however,  she 
makes  it  possible  for  her  to  build  up  her  part  of  the  pen- 
sion as  rapidly  as  she  will,  the  minister  only  receiving  a  pro 
rata  share  of  the  pension  according  to  the  measure  of  her 
gifts.  There  are  those  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  who 
think  that  it  is  enough  to  relieve  need  as  it  arises  and  as 
largely  as  possible.  The  Church,  however,  has  determined  to 
test  her  own  mettle  and  to  prove  the  promises  of  God  by 
attempting  to  do  both ;  first  and  foremost,  to  relieve  the  need 
that  now  exists  or  that  will  yet  be  met;  second  and  equally 
vital,  to  build  up  a  reserve  fund  so  generous  in  its  propor- 
tions and  so  constantly  enriched  that  as  its  bounty  is  drawn 
upon  from  year  to  year  it  will  be  constantly  replenished.  A 
Relief  Department  alone  would  continue  to  meet  relative 
need,  but  would  never  overtake  it.  A  Pension  Department 
alone  would  gradually  build  up  an  adequate  support  in  the 
days  of  their  disability  for  those  uniting  with  it,  but  would 
overlook  both  those  now  disabled  and  those  who,  for  years  to 
come,  would  be  unal)le  or  unwilling  to  contribute  toward  its 
upbuilding.  The  Relief  and  Sustentation  Department  work- 
ing together  as  the  Assembly  has  directed,  each  supplement- 
ing the  other,  each  vital  to  the  Church  and  both  supported 
by  the  Church,  constitute  the  solution  of  the  problem  which, 
in  the  words  of  our  own  Robert  E.  Speer,  is  its  "holiest  and 
most  sacred  privilege  and  duty." 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  169 

$10,000,000  Fund 

The  General  Assembly  has  undertaken  the  task  of  raising 
a  permanent  Endowment  Fund  of  $10,000,000  by  means 
of  which  to  accomplish  this  task.  Even  this  amount  will 
not  be  adequate  if  the  Church  desires  to  accomplish,  upon 
an  actuarial  basis,  the  whole  task.  I  am  glad  to  report 
that  as  a  result  of  steady  accumulations  durnig  the  years 
and  of  some  generous  gifts  recently,  we  have  invested  now 
approximately  $8,000,000,  and  we  have  great  encouragement 
to  believe  that  the  Church  will  so  respond  that  we  will  have 
the  total  sum  eventually  raised.  We  are  at  present  con- 
ducting campaigns  in  various  centers  of  Presbyterianism. 
One  that  was  carried  on  last  November,  in  the  Presbytery  of 
Pittsburgh,  brought  us  in  subscriptions  approximately  $135,- 
000,  and  also,  what  was  of  more  importance,  gave  us  access 
to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  Presbyterian  people.  Our 
plans  for  such  campaigns  reach  several  years  into  the  future. 

We  also  depend  as  a  Church  upon  annual  gifts  from  our 
congregations  for  the  current  work  of  Relief,  and  are  using 
every  effort  to  stimulate  that  source  of  income  so  that  those 
who  are  now  aged  and  disabled  may  not  be  abandoned  m  the 
effort  to  establish  a  statesmanlike  plan.  The  largest  sums 
will  come  to  us  in  legacies.  God  does  not  expect  the  average 
man  of  means  to  deplete  his  capital,  any  more  than  he  expects 
the  average  carpenter  to  sell  his  hammer  or  saw,  but  to  use 
them ;  to  give  an  account  of  income  now  and  to  give  on  that 
day,  when  every  one  of  us  shall  stand  before  the  Great  White 
Throne,  a  full  and  itemized  account  of  capital. 

A  Great  Legacy 
I  want  to  tell  you  the  story  of  one  legacy;  that  of  Lady 
INIartha  Ellen  Kortright,  who  was  a  Philadelphia  Presby- 
terian girl.  She  married  Lord  Kortright  and  moved  with 
him  to  England;  and  survived  him  without  children.  She 
wrote  two  wills;  one  an  English  will,  leaving  all  her  English 
property  to  English  charities;  the  other,  an  American  will, 
leaving  her  American  property  to  four  Presbyterian  Insti- 
tutions—the Board  of  Home  Missions,  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, the  Board  of  Relief  and  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  of 
Philadelphia.  The  British  Government,  however,  with  those 
qualities  that  sometimes  are  admirable  and  sometimes  the 


170  THE  EETIKED  MIMSTER 

reverse,  levied  an  income  tax  upon  the  whole  estate ;  and  since 
it  could  not  collect  it  from  the  American  estate  it  collected  it 
all  from  the  British  estate  and  practically  wiped  out  the 
entire  British  legacies.  Then  the  British  heirs  sued  the 
American  heirs,  trying  to  recoup  themselves  for  this  loss. 
The  American  heirs  contended  that  they  should  not  be 
compelled  to  suffer  on  account  of  the  rapacity  of  the 
British  Cro'wn.  The  Pennsylvania  Supreme  Court  finally 
handed  down  its  decision  which  said  that  these  four  Presby- 
terian Institutions  had  a  right  to  the  property,  and  our  genial 
and  efficient  Treasurer,  Dr.  Heberton,  went  over  to  the  Trust 
Company  one  day  with  his  little  satchel  and  brought  to  our 
office  the  sum  of  $318,066.69,  our  share  of  the  residue  of 
the  estate;  $48,000  of  which  was  accrued  interest.  There  is 
a  rule  of  the  Assembly  which  says  that  we  shall  not  hoard 
our  interest,  we  must  spend  it.  So  the  question  immediately 
arose  as  to  how  we  could  spend  our  interest  in  the  quickest 
and  best  way  possible.  It  would  have  taken  a  whole  year 
to  have  heard  from  the  Presbyteries  recommending  increases. 
We  felt  that  the  $1:8,000  belonged  to  our  annuitants,  and  we 
had  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board,  found  a  resolution  that 
gave  us  ample  power,  and  we  voted  to  send,  without  their 
knowledge  or  expectation,  a  Christmas  gift  of  twenty-five 
dollars  to  each  of  the  1,251  annuitants  then  upon  our  roll. 

I  wish  that  I  could  share  with  others  the  deep  and  unutter- 
able joy  that  has  come  to  me  from  the  reading  of  those  leg- 
acies of  love  that  have  come  to  us  from  the  annuitants.  Our 
gifts  w^ere  sent  the  week  before  Christmas.  One  recipient 
wrote  the  day  before  Christmas:  "Yesterday  my  little  boy 
came  to  me  and  said,  'Mother,  are  w^e  going  to  have  any 
Christmas  ?'  I  had  just  spent  my  last  twenty-five  cents  and 
I  said  to  him,  *My  boy,  God  has  never  forsaken  us,  and  I 
know  He  never  will.' ''  And  then  she  added,  "When  your 
letter  came  with  its  check  for  twenty-five  dollars  it  seemed  as 
if  Jesus  Himself  had  come  into  my  home." 

Of  those  to  whom  we  sent  the  gift,  not  a  few  sent  back  a 
tithe  to  the  Board !  One  widow  WTote  and  said :  "When  your 
letter  came  I  was  in  the  deepest  dungeon  of  distress.  No 
one  knows  the  desolation  and  loneliness  of  my  soul ;  and  when 
I  saw  that  the  old  Church  really  cared  for  me  because  of 
what  my  husband  did,  I  was  like  a  bird  let  loose  from  a  cage. 


THE  PRESBYTEEIAN  CHUECH  171 

True  to  the  practices  of  my  sainted  husband,  I  am  sending 
you  back  $3.50  for  3-our  work."     Such  is  heroism! 

Advance  Program 

The  Presbyterian  Church  is  moving  forward  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  this  holy  task  for  six  reasons. 

First.  The  care  of  the  aged  or  disabled  servants  of  any 
society  or  organization,  by  that  society  or  organization,  is  uni- 
versally recognized  as  a  paramount  duty.  Men  everywhere 
point  the  finger  of  scorn  at  those  institutions  which  enrich 
themselves  on  the  fruitage  of  human  toil,  and  then  cast 
aside  the  toiler  in  the  day  of  his  old  age  or  disability.  This 
duty  is  both  economic  and  moral.  The  producer  of  values, 
whether  spiritual  or  material,  deserves  a  fair  share  of  that 
which  he  produces.  It  is  his  due.  Both  from  an  economic 
point  of  view  which  regards  an  old  age  pension  as  a  "wage 
earned  during  productive  years  and  wisely  deferred  for  pay- 
ment to  the  years  of  disability,"  and  from  a  moral  point  of 
view  which  regards  the  obligation  to  care  for  dependent 
classes  as  fundamentally  just,  the  duty  is  paramount.  All  of 
this  applies  fully  as  much  to  the  Church  as  it  does  to  an 
industrial  concern. 

Second.  The  adequate  care  of  the  disabled  servants  of 
the  Church  is  one  of  the  clearest  duties  outlined  in  the  Word 
of  God.  The  support  of  the  Levite  was  both  suificient  and 
permanent.  The  prophet  summed  up  God's  requirements  as 
these:  "to  do  justly  and  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly 
before  thy  God."  The  widow  of  the  Gospel  Minister  or  mis- 
sionary, who  is  really  the  heart  of  the  whole  task,  is  singled 
out  in  Scripture  as  the  special  recipient  of  divine  tenderness 
and  favor.  The  prophet  pictured  Jehovah  as  the  "Judge  of 
the  widow  and  the  Father  of  the  fatherless,"  while  the  Apostle 
James  tested  the  Apostolic  Church  by  the  standard  of  pure 
religion  which  consists  in  "visiting  the  fatherless  and  the 
widows,"  as  well  as  "keeping  himself  unspotted  from  the 
world."  Presbyterians  boast  themselves  of  their  adherence  to 
the  Pauline  doctrines ;  they  may  well  ask  themselves  how  they 
are  measuring  up  to  the  duties  outlined  by  the  Apostle  James. 

Third.  The  demands  which  the  Church  makes  upon  her 
ministers  enforce  the  reasonableness  and  the  importance  of 
this  service.     She  asks  that  they  be  men  set  apart  from  a 


172  THE  EETIRED  MIXISTER 

secular  to  a  sacred  calling.  She  encourages  them  to  undergo 
a  long  period  of  preparation  which  involves  a  constant  out- 
lay of  money  without  any  appreciable  return  as  income  dur- 
ing the  days  of  apprenticeship.  She  bids  them  give  her  their 
unstinted  energy  and  their  undivided  time.  She  looks  with 
suspicion  upon  any  diversion  of  their  talents  or  time  into 
cliannels  of  material  prosperity  for  themselves.  She  rewards 
them  with  a  bare  competence,  which,  when  it  is  averaged  with 
the  returns  in  any  other  high  calling,  falls  fearfully  below  the 
level,  and  which  is  scarcely  on  the  plane  of  those  forms  of 
labor  whose  economic  standard  is  not  half  so  high.  She 
pleads  with  them  to  establish  Christian  homes  in  which  chil- 
dren may  grow  up.  She  points  with  pride  to  some  of  the 
choicest  products  of  her  ministers'  homes,  men,  who  are  found 
in  Presidents'  chairs,  in  cabinet  offices,  on  Judges'  benches,  in 
all  the  walks  and  stations  of  life,  occupying  worthily  the 
highest  positions.  If  she  makes  all  these  demands  upon  them, 
she  owes  it  to  them  that  they  may  be  fully  provicled  for  in 
the  day  of  their  old  age  and  disability. 

Fourth.  The  needs  of  her  disabled  servants  rise  to-day 
to  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts  as  a  cry  for  justice.  Honored  Min- 
isters who  have  served  humbly  and  fruitfully  for  three  and 
four  decades  are  suffering  the  pangs  of  want.  Aged  women 
who  have  been  left  desolate  by  the  death  of  those,  the  burdens 
of  whose  Ministry  they  have  shared,  are  to-day  tasting  the 
"inside  of  the  cup"  and  are  finding  it  bitter.  Our  Board 
cannot  share  with  the  Church  all  the  intimacies  of  the  suffer- 
ing servants  of  God.  There  are  aged  Ministers  who  have  not 
sufficient  or  reasonable  clothing  suitable  for  the  simplest 
services  in  the  House  of  God.  There  are  widows  with  grow- 
ing children  who,  toiling  day  and  night  Avith  the  needle  and 
sometimes  over  the  washboards,  are  not  able  to  keep  pace  with 
the  high  cost  of  living,  and  are  compelled  to  take  promising 
lads  out  of  high  school  and  to  deprive  them  of  needed  educa- 
tion; when  in  some  cases  the  faces  of  the  deceased  Ministers' 
sons  have  been  set  toward  the  Gospel  Ministry,  despite  all  the 
hardships  they  have  encountered  at  home.  There  are  old 
couples  drawing  near  the  evening  of  life,  without  children 
or  near  relatives  upon  whom  to  lean,  with  barely  enough  to 
provide  the  commonest  necessities  of  life  and  without  one  of 
its  luxuries.     The  cry  of  all  these  is  loud  in  the  ears  of  the 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  173 

living  and  Eternal  God.     He  is  challenging  His  Church  to- 
day, "Give  ye  them  to  eat  V 

Fifth.  The  mission  of  the  Church  to  evangelize  the  world, 
so  clearly  recognized  as  her  supreme  duty  and  so  imperfectly 
fulfilled,  demands  new  efficiency  in  the  leadership  of  the 
Church.  She  will  not,  cannot  rise  higher  than  the  levels  of 
her  ordained  leadership.  If  she  will  release  her  Ministers 
from  the  bondage  of  fear  over  approaching  old  age,  she  will 
unlock  treasuries  of  power  for  herself.  She  will,  by  this, 
prove  to  a  gainsaying  world,  that  she  believes  in  her  mission  ■ 
and  in  her  power  to  fulfill  it.  Every  great  economic,  social 
and  moral  cliallenge  which  is  so  distortedly  voiced  in  the 
unrest  of  the  world,  and  which  is  so  violently  set  forth  in 
those  fundamentally  fallacious  schemes  of  life  that  threaten 
to  engulf  the  nation,  comes  eventually  to  the  Church  for  its 
solution.  Every  great  moral  reform  and  all  the  redemptive 
forces  of  the  race  must  be  kindled  into  a  glow  at  the  altar  of 
the  Church.  If  her  priests  are  heavy  with  the  sleep  of 
burdens  unjustly  borne,  are  full  of  fear  because  of  the  specter 
of  want  that  will  not  down,  her  fires  will  flicker  dimly.  If 
she  turns  aside  from  her  ordained  leadership  in  the  days  of 
its  adversity,  the  choicest  flower  of  her  youth  will  not  offer 
themselves  for  leadership  in  the  days  of  their  prosperity. 

Sixth.  The  approval  of  her  Lord  awaits  her  fulfillment  of 
His  imperative  command.  He  who  said,  "Go  into  all  the 
world,"  also  said,  "I  was  hungry  and  ye  gave  me  to  eat.  In- 
asmuch as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  my 
brethren,  ye  did  it  unto  me."  It  is  well  for  Christian  men 
and  women  to  give  largely  to  build,  maintain  and  endow 
great  institutions,  libraries  and  art  institutes,  universities 
and  hospitals,  associations  for  young  men  and  young  women. 
These  and  a  hundred  other  things  are  worthy  of  those  who 
seek  the  approval  of  Christ.  But  if  the  Church  shall  do  all 
these  things,  "even  giving  her  body  to  be  burned,"  and  have 
not  that  sweet  and  gracious  charity,  that  grace  of  love  for 
those  who  have  served  her,  it  "will  profit  her  nothing."  "The 
Lord  is  mindful  of  His  own,"  and  if  the  Church  has  the  mind 
of  Christ  she  will  seek  the  welfare  of  those  who  most  clearly, 
although  all  too  imperfectly,  represent  Him  on  earth. 

William  H.  Foulkes. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


174 


THP:  EET1KP]D  MINISTER 


Tables  of  Eates  Presbyterian  Sustentation  Fund 

The  minister  continues  to  pay  the  rate  corresponding  to 
his  age  at  entrance. 


Age 


Annual 


Semi- 
Annual 


Quarterly 


Single 
Payments 


21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
51 
52 
53 
54 
55 
56 
57 
58 
59 
60 


$17  13 
16  89 
16  80 
16  82 

16  93 

17  11 
17  35 

17  67 

18  04 
18  46 

18  93 

19  47 

20  06 

20  69 

21  40 

22  16 

22  99 

23  89 

24  81 

25  89 

27  01 

28  44 

29  55 

30  97 
32  52 
34  21 
36  06 
38  08 
40  29 
42  74 
45  45 
48  44 
51  77 
55  53 
59  77 
64  61 
70  19 
76  71 
84  42 
93  69 


$8  52 
8  70 
8  65 
8  51 
8  72 
8  81 

8  94 

9  10 
9  29 
9  51 
9  75 

10  03 
10  33 

10  66 

11  02 
11  41 

11  84 

12  30 

12  78 

13  33 

13  91 

14  65 

15  22 

15  95 

16  75 

17  62 

18  57 

19  61 

20  75 

22  01 

23  41 

24  95 
26  68 
28  60 
30  78 
33  27 
36  15 
39  51 
43  48 
48  25 


$4  54 


40 
37 
38 
49 
54 
60 
68 
78 
89 
02 
16 
31 
50 
67 
87 
09 
6  33 
6  57 

6  86 

7  16 
7  54 

7  83 

8  21 

8  62 

9  07 
9  56 

10  09 

10  68 

11  33 

12  04 

12  84 

13  72 

14  72 

15  84 

17  12 

18  60 
20  33 
22  37 
24  83 


$351  67 
345  88 
342  92 

341  84 

342  14 

343  58 
345  76 
348  66 
352  15 
356  45 
361  28 
366  29 
372  54 
378  75 
385  41 
392  50 
399  99 
407  81 
415  32 
424  48 
433  21 
442  29 
451  80 
461  50 
471  59 
482  17 
493  02 
504  39 
516  41 
528  95 
542  58 
556  21 
570  86 
586  12 
602  16 
618  76 
635  95 
653  78 
672  55 
692  39 


THE   CHURCH'S 
PROGRAM 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN 
CHURCH  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES 

(SOUTHERN  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH) 

THE  REV.  HENRY  H.  SWEETS,  D.D. 

Secretary   Education  and  Ministerial  Relief 


I  count  it  a  rare  privilege  to  have  some  part  in  the  states- 
manlike and  far-reaching  movement  in  which  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  is  engaged. 

Too  long  the  enfeebled  Veterans  of  the  Ministry  have  been 
neglected.  Too  often  we  have  been  so  busy  in  leading  on  the 
victorious  host  to  greater  victory  and  wider  conquest  that  we 
have  forgotten  the  command  of  the  great  King: 

''Take  heed  to  tltyself  that  thou  forsake  not  the  Levite  as 
long  as  thou  livest  upon  the  earth/' 

We  congratulate  the  great  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
upon  her  determination  to  remove  this  reproach.  We  have 
come  to  know  and  to  love  your  leader.  With  a  mind  to  com- 
prehend the  abiding  principles  of  justice  and  truth;  with  a 
heart  to  feel  the  burdens  of  "the  saints  who  are  in  need"  and 
to  call  forth  the  sympathy  and  help  of  the  able  and  strong; 
and  with  such  energy  and  enthusiasm  thrown  into  the  work, 
under  the  blessings  of  God,  you  cannot  fail.  The  success  and 
blessing  that  will  surely  come  to  you  will  encourage  the  rest 
of  us,  and  in  the  lives  of  all  our  veterans  will  hasten  the  ful- 
fillment of  the  promise,  "At  evening  time  it  shall  be  light.'' 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  commonly 
called  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  came  into  being 
in  1861.  On  account  of  the  great  crisis  through  which  our 
country  was  passing  at  that  time,  the  Church  was  poor,  busi- 
ness activity  was  at  a  standstill,  and  after  the  close  of  the 
war,  her  territory  was  impoverished  and  her  securities  worth- 
less. So  many  were  the  demands  made  on  the  new  Church  in 
attempting  to  overtake  the  vast  destitution  that  abounded  on 
every  hand,  that  the  new,  struggling  organization  had  little 

175 


176  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

opportunity  or  means  to  care  for  its  enfeebled  ministers  or 
their  destitute  families. 

Organizations  for  Ministerial  Relief 

In  1867  the  committee  of  Home  Missions  was  authorized 
to  appropriate  five  per  cent  of  all  its  receipts  to  the  relief  of 
the  destitute  widows  and  children  of  ministers  and  to  min- 
isters in  infirm  health.  The  next  year  a  collection  was  or- 
dered from  all  the  churches  for  the  Relief  Fund,  to  be  handled 
by  the  treasurer  of  Home  Missions.  The  day  for  this  collec- 
tion was  the  first  Sabbath  in  July,  and  this  day  was  retained 
until  1911.  The  amount  received  from  this  collection  in 
1869  was  $3,624;  in  1879,  $8,381;  in  1889,  $12,965;  in  1899, 
$14,384;  in  1909,  $35,035;  in  19i4,  $57,300. 

Not  until  1901  did  the  General  Assembly  erect  a  separate 
agency  for  the  conduct  of  this  work.  The  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  Ministerial  Relief  began  its  labors  in  that  year ;  the 
main  stress  being  placed  upon  the  annual  offering  for  Min- 
isterial Relief,  the  help  being  given  to  needy  ministers  and 
the  families  of  deceased  ministers  on  the  basis  of  age,  need 
and  service  to  the  Church. 

In  1904  the  General  Assembly  consolidated  the  causes  of 
Education  for  the  Ministry  and  Ministerial  Relief,  and  in 
1911  a  further  consolidation  was  effected  of  all  the  executive 
agencies  of  the  Church.  The  work  of  the  Church  is  now 
carried  on  through  four  executive  committees  or  boards — 
Foreign  Missions,  Home  Missions,  Sabbath  Schools  and  Pub- 
lications, and  Christian  Education  and  Ministerial  Relief. 

In  1869  another  plan  was  suggested  to  the  General  As- 
sembly for  the  "Relief  of  the  Families  of  Deceased  Ministers," 
and  during  the  next  year  an  elaborate  scheme  was  formu- 
lated for  the  relief  of  both  disabled  ministers  and  the  needy 
widows  and  orphans  of  deceased  ministers.  In  furthering 
this  plan  the  following  statement  was  made : 

"The  scheme  under  consideration,  unlike  life  insurance, 
makes  no  discrimination  on  account  of  age,  health  or  the 
number  of  years  that  a  minister  may  have  been  engaged  in 
preaching  the  gospel.  The  ministers  are  all  regarded  as 
officers  of  the  Church  and  servants  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  their  families,  in  consequence,  as  clearly  entitled  to  the 
beneficent  provisions  of  the  general  arrangement.     The  only 


SOUTHERN  PEESBYTERIAN  CHURCH         177 

limitation  or  discrimination  will  be  in  relation  to  the  number 
of  annual  payments  that  must  be  made  by  the  Church  before 
a  minister's  family  can  be  entitled  to  the  full  amount/' 

The  plan  then  worked  out  was  not  based  upon  sound,  busi- 
ness principles,  and  both  ministers  and  churches  failed  to 
contril)ute  the  necessary  amounts.  After  many  changes,  in 
1885  the  business  was  transferred  to  the  "Clergy  Friendly 
Society,"  a  voluntary  organization  of  business  men  of  Balti- 
more. In  1890  these  gentlemen  signified  their  desire  to  re- 
linquish the  trust,  and  the  next  year  the  funds  were  placed  in 
the  'M^resbyterian  Ministers'  Fund''  of  Philadelphia. 

Growth  of  Resources 

How  our  ideas  and  the  resources  of  the  Church  have  grown ! 
In  1882  the  General  Assembly  was  informed  that  "the  late 
Rev.  Stuart  Rol)inson,  D.D.,  of  Louisville,  Ivy.,  had  shown 
princely  liberality,  vSo  characteristic  of  his  noble  nature,  in 
a  munificent  donation  of  $25,000  as  a  permanent  endowment 
fund  for  this  cause."  But  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  such  a 
forward  movement,  and  in  1884  the  General  Assembly  with- 
drew all  claims  to  this  bequest  because  the  way  was  "not 
clear  to  enter  upon  an  organized  effort  to  increase  the  endow- 
ment of  said  fund  to  $100,000,  which  was  evidently  con- 
templated by  this  venerable  servant  of  God."  In  1901  a 
movement  was  finally  launched  looking  to  the  establishment 
of  a  permanent  fund,  the  interest  of  which  should  be  used  in 
relieving  the  necessities  of  infirm  ministers  and  needy  widows 
and  orphans.  In  1902  this  Endowment  Fund  was  $298.30. 
In  1906  an  elder  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  offered  to  give  the  sum  of  $100,000  to  the  Endowment 
Fund,  provided  $125,000  was  added  to  the  $25,000  which  was 
the  amount  of  the  Endowment  Fund  at  that  time.  In  a  short 
time  this  condition  was  met,  and  the  Endowment  Fund  im- 
mediately increased  to  $250,000. 

In  more  recent  years  the  Church  has  constantly  been  dis- 
turbed by  a  heavy  debt  resting  upon  the  Foreign  Mission 
Committee  and,  with  other  urgent  matters  on  hand,  the 
time  never  seemed  propitious  for  a  church-wide  campaign  for 
the  enlargement  of  the  Endowment  Fund.  Some  amounts 
have  been  added  through  bequests.  A  few  churches,  Sunday 
schools  and  societies  have  contributed  small  amounts,  and  a 


178  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

few  interested  persons  have  made  annual  contributions  to  it. 
The  fund  now  amounts  to  $3^^0,000. 

The  Presl)yterian  Cliurch  in  the  United  States  is  composed 
of  3,430  ehurclies,  1,819  ministers  and  31 1,000  communicants. 
AVe  have  on  the  roll  of  Ministerial  Relief  G2  ministers,  14G 
widows  and  20  orphans.  In  the  228  homes  of  these  benefi- 
ciaries are  many  invalids  and  65  little  fatherless  children 
under  14  years  of  age.  In  1913  we  gave  to  the  support  of 
all  these  claimants  of  the  bounty  of  the  Church,  $38,725. 

AVhen  a  minister  reaches  the  age  of  seventy  and  has  served 
the  Church  for  thirty  years,  he  is  entitled  to  be  placed  on 
the  "Roll  of  lIonoral)ly  Retired  Ministers."  There  are  now 
twenty-eight  ministers  so  enrolled,  who  received  an  average 
last  year  of  $270;  the  largest  amount  appropriated  to  any 
one  being  $600.  The  average  amount  paid  the  other  thirty- 
four  ministers  whose  names  were  not  on  that  Roll  was  $215. 
The  average  amount  received  by  the  widows  was  $150.  The 
average  assistance  given  to  each  of  the  228  homes  represented 
by  beneficiaries  was  $170  per  annum. 

Plans  for  Ministerial  Relief 

We  are  relieved  from  the  difficulties  faced  by  many  Church 
Boards  which  have  several  agencies  trying  to  solve  the  same 
problem.  All  funds  for  disabled  ministers  and  their  families 
are  handled  by  this  one  agency,  "Tlie  Executive  Committee 
of  Ministerial  Relief,"  which  has  adopted  the  following  plans 
for  increasing  the  amounts  to  be  provided  for  the  beneficiaries. 

1.  The  Assembly's  Budget.  When  the  Church  adopted 
the  every-member  canvass  plan  and  apportioned  amounts  to 
the  various  synods  and  presbyteries  for  the  general  work  of  the 
Church,  fourteen  per  cent  of  the  offerings  were  assigned  to 
Christian  Education  and  Ministerial  Relief.  The  amount 
asked  for  the  work  for  1915  is,  therefore,  $172,666.  Inas- 
much as  great  efforts  are  being  made  to  push  this  financial 
plan,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  we  will  receive  for 
this  work  a  much  larger  amount  than  that  contributed  last 
year.  About  two  thirds  of  this  amount  ($100,000  to  $120,- 
000)  will  go  to  the  department  of  Ministerial  Relief. 

2.  Annual  Collections.  The  months  of  April  and  De- 
cember have  been  set  apart  by  the  General  Assembly  for 
instruction  as  to  this  work  and  as  the  time  for  offerings  to 


SOUTHERN  rPtESBYTEEiAN  CHURCH      no 

it.  We  are  carefully  informing  the  churches  of  the  needs 
through  the  pastors,  getting  the  people  more  interested  in 
the  work  by  means  of  carefully  pre])ared  leaflets,  and  are 
seeking  to  secure  offerings  in  those  churches  that  have  not 
yet  fully  adopted  the  financial  plan  of  the  every-member 
canvass. 

3.  Women's  Societies.  The  General  Assembly  has  urged 
all  the  women's  societies,  including  the  Pastor's  Aid  and  the 
Missionary  Societies,  to  interest  themselves  in  all  the  work 
of  the  Church.  They  have  been  requested  to  give  fourteen 
per  cent  of  their  contributions  to  the  work  of  Christian  Edu- 
cation and  Ministerial  Relief.  This  gives  us  access  to  one  of 
tlie  most  important  agencies  of  the  entire  Church.  The  women 
are  studying  the  matter,  using  carefully  prepared  programs, 
prepared  by  our  committee  and  their  own  auxiliary,  and  are 
not  only  giving  far  in  excess  of  their  former  offerings,  but 
are  doing  much  to  interest  the  whole  Church  in  the  work. 

4.  The  Suxday  Schools.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  month 
of  December  has  been  assigned  to  our  work,  we  have  the  priv- 
ilege of  preparing  the  Christmas  exercise  for  use  in  the  Sun- 
day schools.  The  tender  but  sane  appeal  of  this  sacred  cause 
is  presented  in  attractive  exercises  which  call  forth  the  sym- 
pathy and  help  of  the  officers,  teachers  and  pupils  of  the 
Sunday  schools.  Inasmuch  as  the  pupils  are  soon  to  take 
their  places  as  the  leaders  in  the  Church  and  are  to  become 
the  financiers  of  the  country,  we  consider  this  one  of  the  most 
helpful  and  hopeful  jiarts  of  our  entire  campaign  for  the 
enfeebled  veterans  of  the  Church. 

5.  Publicity  Campaigx.  Some  time  ago  the  Church  de- 
cided to  consolidate  the  magazines  published  in  the  interest 
of  foreign  missions  and  home  missions  and  to  combine  them 
into  a  magazine  which  would  rej)resent  the  four  great  agencies 
of  the  Church.  Through  the  columns  of  this  magazine  we  have 
the  privilege  of  making  known  to  the  women's  societies  the 
])est  forms  of  programs  and  keeping  constantly  before  the 
Church  and  our  people  the  needs  of  our  beneficiaries  and  the 
sacred  claims  of  this  work.  In  addition  to  this  all  the  Church 
papers  of  the  South  open  their  columns  for  brief  articles, 
attractively  prepared,  by  which  means  we  are  able  to  reach 
thousands  of  our  people  with  the  latest  information  and  the 
most  attractive  appeals. 


180  THE  JJETIEED  MINISTEU 

6.  Future  Plans.  By  direction  of  the  General  Assembly 
we  are  now  entering  upon  a  vigorous  campaign  to  increase 
the  Endowment  Fund  to  at  least  $500,000.  In  addition  to 
this  we  liave  been  directed  to  put  forth  every  effort  to  increase 
the  annual  offerings  to  this  cause.  While  the  Church  has 
never  adopted  the  idea  of  "pensions"  for  her  ministers,  she 
has  definitely  assumed  the  task  of  caring  for  the  disabled 
ministers,  and  the  needy  widows  and  orphans.  Every  dictate 
of  justice,  honor,  gratitude,  self-respect,  expediency,  sym- 
pathy, religion,  obedience  to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church, 
love  to  Christ  and  the  example  of  Jesus  enforce  this  demand 
— that  those  who  minister  in  spiritual  things  shall  not  be 
allowed  to  suffer  and  render  inefficient  their  ministry  on 
account  of  lack  of  material  support.  The  Church  has  at  last 
awakened  to  the  fact,  that  regardless  of  salaries  paid,  there 
will  still  be  needs,  definite  and  certain,  in  many  ministers' 
homes,  and  she  is  now  endeavoring  through  the  Endow- 
ment Fund  to  render  less  uncertain  the  means  of  support  for 
the  unfortunate  ones. 

We  do  not  propose  to  make  the  interest  from  invested  funds 
the  sole  means  of  meeting  this  obligation.  We  want  the  people 
to  have  the  joy  of  taking  upon  themselves  ^Hhe  fellowsldp  of 
ministering  to  the  saints,"  and  to  feel  the  duty  of  supporting 
the  ministers  of  the  Church,  whether  active  or  retired,  by 
their  loving  gifts.  Trusting  in  the  great  God  of  Elijah  and 
the  sense  of  justice  in  the  hearts  of  our  people,  we  are  plan- 
ning better  and  nobler  things  for  them. 

Ministerial  Eelief  and  the  Ministerial  Supply 

Since  our  work  concerns  also  the  recruiting  of  the  Min- 
istry, we  have  made  careful  study  of  the  reasons  why  the 
Church  is  not  furnishing  a  sufficient  supply  of  capable  leaders 
for  the  ever- widening  work  of  the  Churcli,  l)otli  at  home  and 
abroad.  I  do  not  believe  that  many  young  men  are  kept  out 
of  the  Ministry  because  of  the  hardships  they  must  encounter, 
and  the  lack  of  provision  for  the  days  of  need,  though  this 
may  serve  to  turn  some  of  our  boys  aside.  If  the  Church  per- 
mits her  faithful  leaders  to  lie  wounded  and  uncared  for  on 
the  field  of  battle,  or  to  struggle  along  unaided  after  they  have 
been  retired  from  labor  and  from  income,  can  she  rightfully 


SOUTHERN  PEESBYl^EEIAN  CHURCH         181 

expect  the  son  to  rush  forward  to  take  the  place  of  the  father 
in  the  depicted  ranks  of  the  ministry? 

Most  of  the  boys  at  the  time  of  decision  know  little  of  these 
sad  trials,  but  God  knows  them  every  one.  May  it  not  be  that 
because  the  Church  has  shown  so  little  appreciation  of  the 
faitliful  ministers  He  has  called  to  her  service  that  God  for 
a  time  is  withholding  these  priceless  gifts !  I  long  to  live 
to  see  the  day  when  these  wrongs  shall  be  righted,  and  to  have 
some  part  in  bringing  fuller  justice  to  our  ministers  and 
richer  blessing  to  the  Church. 

We  thank  you,  our  warm-hearted  brethren  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  for  the  determination  and  vim  with  which 
you  have  attacked  this  problem.  There  is  urgency  in  the 
call  to  go  forward.  Many  of  those  whose  cause  we  plead  will 
be  with  us  but  a  very  short  time.  Their  gray  hairs  and  bended 
forms  betoken  they  are  much  further  from  the  bounds  of 
infancy,  than  from  the  gates  of  death.  With  wasted  forms 
and  feel)le  strength  they  can  only  sit  and  wait  the  summons 
that  will  soon  come  to  call  them  into  His  presence.  What 
we  do  for  them  must  he  done  in  this  generation,  nay,  must  be 
done  now.  AVhat  a  joy  to  labor  for  these  lonely  men,  and  to 
remember  that  as  we  seek  to  minister  to  them  we  are  minister- 
ing unto  Him. 

"Yes,  we  believe  Thy  Word, 

Though  dim  our  faith  may  be, 
Whate'er  we  do  for  Thine,  O  Lord, 
We  do  it  unto  Thee." 

Louisville,  Ky.  Henry  H.  Sweets. 

A  SUNSET  SONG 
The  Rev.  E.  Stuart  Best,  D.D. 

The  eightieth  milestone's  close  at  hand, 

The  pearly  gates  I  see, 
I  hear  the  harps  of  an  angel  band. 

They  sing  sweet  songs  to  me. 
"No  more  the  dreary  desert  roam, 
Thy  Saviour  comes  to  lead  thee  home." 

I'm  willing,  Lord,  to  labor  here. 

Keep  toiling  till  the  sun  goes  down, 
'Midst  cherished  friends  and  loved  ones  dear, 

'Tis  joy  to  gain  a  fadeless  crown. 
Then,  Saviour,  when  the  prize  is  won. 
Oh,  let  me  hear  Thee  say,  "Well  done!" 


182  THE  RETIKEU  MINISTER 

VETERANS  OF  THE  WORLD'S  GREATEST  ARMY 
Tjie  Atlanta  (^oNsTiTriTiox 

It  is  the  practice  the  world  over  to  provide  liberally  for 
the  old  age  or  the  indigence  or  the  disability  of  the  men  who, 
in  large  and  little  wars,  have  freely  periled  life  and  health  in 
the  service  of  their  country.  We  are  just  beginning  to  awake 
to  the  infinitely  more  sacred  obligation  we  owe  the  worn  or 
crippled  veterans  of  religion ;  the  men  who  in  the  service  of  the 
Cross  sacrifice  health,  comfort  and  convenience,  not  for  an 
inspiring  four  years,  but  for  the  entire  term  of  their  mature 
activities. 

The  cause  is  one  which  should  appeal  to  the  most  generous 
instincts  of  men  and  women  of  every  denomination,  as  well  as 
those  whose  reverence  for  religion  is  of  a  non-sectarian  char- 
acter, for  these  men  are,  as  a  matter  of  plain  fact,  veterans 
in  the  greatest  army  of  the  world. 

They  enter  most  intimately  and  personally  into  the  sanctity 
of  our  homes,  in  the  hours  when  joy  rings  its  highest  cadence 
or  when  grief  shadows  the  fireside  like  an  impenetrable  pall. 
The  physician  safeguards  the  material  health,  saving  our 
strength  that  we  may  expend  it  for  the  sake  of  those  for 
whom  self-sacrifice  is  a  luxury,  and  we  are  likely  to  compen- 
sate him  in  liberal  measure.  The  minister  of  the  soul,  who 
gives  consolation  when  the  office  of  the  physician  has  become 
of  no  avail,  and  who  stands  unmoved  by  our  side  if  despair  or 
disgrace  should  drive  thence  our  dearest  companions,  too  often 
is  dismissed  with  a  miserable  pittance.  It  too  frequently 
happens  that  he  is  so  inadequately  paid  that  he  must  deprive 
his  family  of  the  necessities  and  advantages  of  life,  and  he 
is  as  likely  as  not  to  reach  the  age  for  retirement  without  a 
penny  against  the  inevitable  rainy  day. 

Happily,  we  are  rousing  to  the  inadvertent  cruelty  and 
injustice  of  this  custom,  and  denominations  throughout  civil- 
ization are  taking  steps  to  repair  their  neglect  of  the  past  and 
forestall  its  perpetuation  in  the  future. 


THE   CHURCH'S 
PROGRAM 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH,  SOUTH 

;   THE  REV.  J.  R.  STEWART,  D.D. 

Secretary  Superannuate  Endowment  Fund 


For  many  years  past,  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  references  to  the  meager  support  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants have  been  punctuated  with  regretful  remarks  and  apolo- 
getic hesitation.  This  paper  is  a  candid  attempt  to  set  forth 
our  successes  and  failures  in  the  management  of  this  im- 
portant matter.  The  interesting  and  contradictory  nature  of 
existing  facts  eludes  satisfactory  analysis.  Free  and  frequent 
expressions  of  sincere  deprecation  of  this  state  of  affairs  are 
heard  within  and  even  beyond  our  Church  circles.  Incon- 
sistency or  indifference  might  be  suggested  as  applying  to 
those  who  feel  so  deeply  and  yet  act  so  tardily;  but  such 
judgment  may  properly  be  suspended  until  the  real  situation 
is  carefully  reviewed.  Our  belief  is  strong  that  if  our  Meth- 
odist constituency  could  be  furnished  with  full  information, 
forcefully  presented,  concerning  the  prevailing  and  often 
distressing  needs  of  Conference  Claimants,  the  solution  of  our 
problem  would  soon  be  in  sight. 

Darkness  begets  indifference.  Ignorance  concerning  the 
merits  of  any  good  cause  is  its  worst  enemy.  Sympathy 
would  be  moved  and  interest  stirred  into  activity  if  the  light 
of  intelligence  were  flashed  upon  the  situation.  The  real 
conviction  of  the  Church  has  not  been  practically  expressed 
on  this  subject,  nor  its  strength  delivered.  With  us,  the 
desultory  and  haphazard  manner  of  handling  this  great  in- 
terest has  been  its  defeat.  Strange  to  say,  even  the  popularity 
of  the  Claimants'  Fund  has  exposed  it  to  neglect  and  abuse. 
We  have  relied  entirely  too  much  upon  a  general  and  some- 
what vague  impression  that  our  Retired  Ministers,  widows 
and  children,  so  much  honored  and  beloved  and  so  worthy 

183 


184  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

of  a  competency,  are  as  a  matter  of  course  provided  for;  that 
the  Conference  Claimants'  Fund  is  the  easiest  of  all  to  secure, 
that  it  will  surely  be  paid,  and  that  in  any  event,  the  good 
people  will  not  allow  the  Claimants  to  be  in  want.  Not  only 
have  authorized  agents  relied  upon  the  popularity  of  the 
cause  to  secure  the  payment  of  these  claims,  often  without 
adequate  presentation,  but  they  have  made  the  popularity  of 
the  cause  the  basis  of  appeals  to  secure  the  payment  of  ofJier 
connedional  claims.  Our  Claimants  have  not  had  a  "square 
deal"  at  the  hands  of  their  friends. 

Annual  Conference  Agencies 

Until  within  very  recent  years  the  Annual  Conferences 
have  been  solely  responsible  for  the  support  of  their  Claim- 
ants. That  the  Conferences  have  never  been  al)le,  for  some 
reason  not  clearly  apparent,  fully  to  discharge  this  responsi- 
bility, by  current  collections,  is  a  depressing  fact  of  common 
knowledge.  This  is  indicated  by  numerous  organizations 
consisting  of  aid  societies,  endowment  funds,  superannuate 
homes,  and  lastly,  our  Superannuate  Endowment  Fund,  all  of 
which  are  intended  to  be  supplementary  to  the  regular  line 
of  support.  These  are  so  many  confessions  of  the  inability 
of  the  Annual  Conferences  to  discharge  this  responsibility. 
It  should  be  stated,  however,  in  the  interest  of  fairness,  that 
a  small  number  of  our  Conferences  have  gone  far  in  advance 
of  others  in  the  support  of  their  Claimants,  but  the  number 
of  those  which  have  been  successful  is  very  small,  not  exceed- 
ing a  half  dozen.  The  maximum  sum  paid  in  these  Confer- 
ences does  not  exceed  five  hundred  dollars,  and  there  are  com- 
paratively few  who  receive  as  much  as  four  hundred  dollars 
per  annum.  The  true  situation,  however,  is  better  realized 
when  we  strike  an  average  of  the  amount  paid  the  represen- 
tative of  each  superannuate  family;  which,  counting  all  that 
is  received  from  every  source,  has  not  yet  reached  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars,  and  quite  a  num])er  of  our  superan- 
nuates decline  to  receive  anything  in  deference  to  the  interests 
of  others,  because  of  their  greater  need. 

Our  Annual  Conference  organization  charged  with  the  duty 
of  making  provision  for  Claimants  is  the  Joint  Board  of 
Finance,  composed  of  an  equal  number  of  ministers  and  lay- 
men.    This  Board  fixes  assessments,  subject  to  ratification 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUECH,  SOUTH  185 

by  the  Conference.  Preachers  in  attendance  on  the  Board 
meetings  are  almost  invariably  in  the  majority,  so  that  the 
actual  responsibility  has  rested  largely  on  them.  The  ques- 
tion then  arises,  Why  have  not  the  clerical  meml)ers,  being  in 
the  majority,  provided  adequately  for  the  maintenance  of 
those  who  naturally  hold  such  a  warm  place  in  their  sympa- 
thetic esteem  ?  Is  it  a  matter  of  undue  modesty  ?  Can  it  be  due 
to  lack  of  business  earnestness  and  foresight  ?  Have  they  felt 
their  responsibility  duly  ?  It  is  evident  and  must  be"  con- 
fessed that  our  preachers  have  not  used,  to  the  full  extent,  the 
opportunity  they  possess  for  providing  the  needed  support. 
Their  unselfishness  and  modesty  may  be  admired  even  though 
their  business  methods  be  subject  to  criticism.  The  shortest 
and  easiest  way  to  reach  the  goal  of  long-cherished  desire 
is  through  ample  assessments  for  the  annual  collections,  so 
presented  that  the  people  may  see  their  responsibility  and 
opportunity.  It  is  our  conviction  that  if  this  had  been"  done, 
our  great  problem  would  have  received  satisfactory  solution 
long  ago.  But  we  are  now  under  necessity  of  providing  the 
support  largely  by  indirection,  since  we  have  failed  to  do  it 
by  direct  methods. 

Endowment  Funds 

Through  indirect  agencies  and  organizations  considerahle 
sums  have  been  contributed  to  the  general  cause.  There  are 
twelve  or  fifteen  Annual  Conferences  which  have  established 
interest  bearing  funds,  the  largest  of  these  scarcely  exceeding 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  income  from  these  funds 
has  been  a  valuable  aid.  There  are  also  a  few  preachers'  aid 
societies,  which  exist  for  a  similar  purpose.  Then,  in  addi- 
tion, there  has  been  developed  within  the  past  fifteen  years, 
in  some  dozen  or  more  Conferences,  the  Superannuate  Home 
movement.  The  pioneer  in  this  form  of  activity  has  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  more  than  thirty  of  these  homes  and  has 
attained  the  largest  success  in  this  form  of  enterprise. 

But  the  most  ambitious  attempt  was  the  launching  of  our 
Superannuate  Endowment  Fund,  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  raising  a  minimum  sum  of  five  million  dollars.  As  far 
as  we  are  advised,  the  agitation  of  this  matter  was  begun 
very  properly  by  prominent  laymen,  the  leader  l)eing  the  late 
Mr.  W.  F.  Vandiver  of  Alabama.     Discussion  of  this  subject 


186  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

was  held  in  private  circles  at  the  General  Conference  of  1898, 
but  nothing  further  was  done.  In  190:3,  in  the  Episcopal 
Address,  written  by  Bishop  Hendrix,  which  contained  strong 
and  definite  recommendations  on  the  subject,  our  Bishops 
expressed  their  desire  for  such  a  movement.  Great  interest 
was  manifested  in  the  committee  when  the  plan  of  organiza- 
tion was  formulated,  and  its  recommendations  were  adopted 
by  the  General  Conference  without  opposition  and  on  a  full 
tide  of  enthusiasm.  Immediately  there  was  a  spontaneous 
subscription  of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  dollars. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  a  corporation  already  existing,  was  made  custodian 
of  the  fund  under  certain  general  directions.  A  field  agent 
was  employed  who  spent  two  years  in  visiting  Annual  Con- 
ferences and  churches,  soliciting  subscriptions.  He  met  with 
encouraging  success,  and  then  tendered  his  resignation,  believ- 
ing that  his  special  line  of  work  was  completed.  Knowing 
the  great  loss  that  is  incident  to  the  collection  of  popular 
subscriptions  and  realizing  the  fact  that  a  better  business 
foundation  should  be  laid  for  the  accumulation  of  a  great 
fund,  the  trustees  began  seriously  to  consider  the  modification 
of  plans.  By  this  time  they  realized  that  the  accumulation 
of  a  large  fund  would  require  the  faithful  operation  of  wise 
and  well  matured  methods  for  a  period  of  years.  At  the  be- 
ginning, some  with  vivid  imagination  could  see  the  great  fund 
leaping  into  form  and  fact  in  an  incredibly  short  time. 
Others  were  altogether  doubtful  of  final  success.  Still  others 
looked  with  large  hope  to  the  munificent  benefactions  of 
wealthy  members  of  the  Church  for  the  building  of  this 
endowment.  A  yet  larger  number  believed  that  the  difficulties 
of  the  task  would  certainly  yield,  sooner  or  later,  to  persis- 
tent effort  and  that  the  noble  undertaking  would  be  crowned 
with  success. 

Direct  Contributions  from  the  Churches 

Preparation  for  inflowing  beneficence  through  the  regular 
channels  of  the  Church  was  not  overlooked.  Provision 
is  made  for  receiving  aid  from  the  membership  at  large  by 
requiring  every  pastor  to  present  the  subject  annually  to  each 
congregation  and  to  receive  voluntary  contributions.  It  is 
evident  that  the  founders  of  the  fund  regarded  this  source 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH  187 

of  growth  with  large  expectation,  but  we  are  sorry  to  be  com- 
pelled to  state  tliat  tlie  failure  of  the  pastors  to  take  these 
offerings  was  a  sore  disappointment.  Easy  as  it  may  be  to 
confess  the  shortcomings  of  others,  it  really  requires  some- 
thing of  an  effort  to  state  the  plain  fact,  that  only  a  very  few 
of  our  preachers  e\er  attended  to  the  performance  oi  this 
duty.  The  Board  exhausted  whatever  ingenuity  it  possessed 
to  induce  them  to  do  so,  but  with  incredibly  small  success. 
They  simply  would  not  stand  for  this  method.  We  again 
came  up  against  that  subtle,  indefinable,  paralyzing  influence 
which  makes  our  preachers  measurably  incompetent  to  deal 
with  this  problem.  Their  finer  sensibilities  and  stalwart, 
independent  manliness  forestalled  them.  Their  itinerant 
training  had  been  on  a  different  line.  They  had  been  schooled 
to  self-denial  and  self-respect,  and  refused  to  go  before  the 
public  and  practically  plead  their  own  cause.  Our  Board 
became  thoroughly  convinced  that  we  need  not  expect  them 
to  take  this  collection,  though,  almost  to  a  man,  they  were 
deeply  interested  in  the  success  of  the  movement,  as  demon- 
strated by  the  fact  that  they  were  large  personal  contributors. 

General  Conference  Assessments 

Eealizing  that  there  was  a  great  problem  to  be  solved  and 
knowing  that  the  men  in  the  ministry  had  possession  of  the 
slate,  the  Board  began  devising  measures  to  set  them  to  work. 
Convinced  that  no  connectional  enterprise  could  have  large 
success  independent  of  the  active  agency  of  the  preachers, 
the  expedient  of  an  assessment  was  resorted  to.  The  Board, 
being  without  power  to  fix  assessments,  appealed  to  Annual 
Conferences  to  assume  them :  a  line  of  effort  which  frequently 
met  stern  opposition  and  was  sometimes  defeated,  but  finally 
prevailed  in  nearly  all  the  Conferences.  The  General  Con- 
ference of  1910  was  memorialized  to  give  the  desired  relief 
by  authorizing  a  uniform  assessment,  but  through  a  conjunc- 
tion of  unfortunate  circumstances  the  effort  failed.  The 
work,  however,  was  continued  along  former  lines  with  in- 
creasing encouragement  throughout  the  following  quadren- 
nium.  Three  plans  for  enlargement  were  presented  for  the 
consideration  of  the  General  Conference  of  1914.  Two  of 
them  were  quite  comprehensive  in  scope,  though  widely  differ- 
ent; one  of  them  being  presented  by  the   Board  which  is 


188  THE  RETIRED  MTXISTER 

custodian  of  the  fund.  These  progressive  plans  were  promptly 
turned  down  b}'  the  committee,  but  a  more  conservative 
recommendation  of  the  Board  was  promptly  approved  and 
enacted  into  law.  This  provision  is  in  part  as  follows:  "To 
further  provide  for  the  enlargement  of  this  fund,  an  assess- 
ment shall  ])e  made  on  all  Annual  Conferences  of  a  sum  not 
less  than  one  per  cent  of  the  amount  paid  for  ministerial 
support."  From  this  one  source  the  fund  should  receive  not 
less  than  fifty  thousand  dollars  annually  at  the  beginning 
and  the  amount  should  increase  with  the  normal  growth  of 
the  Church.  Three  fourths  of  the  net  income  of  this  is  dis- 
bursed annually  to  claimants  through  the  several  Annual 
Conferences,  on  the  basis  of  the  numl)er  of  claimants,  while 
one  fourth  is  retained  for  increase  of  the  Fund.  The  dis- 
bursement this  year  approximates  nine  thousand  dollars;  and 
will  increase  annually.  After  the  fund  shall  have  been  com- 
pleted the  entire  net  income  will  be  available  for  distribution. 
Some  real  estate  has  been  deeded  to  the  Board  for  the  fund, 
with  retention  of  life  interest  by  the  donor.  By  this  com- 
mendable method  one  can  practically  administer  on  his  own 
estate  and  be  better  assured  that  his  purpose  will  be  carried 
out  after  his  decease  than  he  could  be  by  making  a  will.  One 
such  provision  made  recently  will  yield  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
thousand  dollars. 

Bequests 

Since  this  fund  has  been  in  existence,  a  number  of  bequests 
have  been  made  from  which  a  considerable  aggregate  has  been 
realized.  Bequests  are  provocative  of  law  suits  and  not  infre- 
quently the  Church  loses.  We  have  one  such  suit  now  pend- 
ing in  a  higher  court  involving  an  interest  in  a  large  coal 
land  estate.  We  are  expecting,  also,  that  suit  may  be  brought 
at  any  time  in  another  case  involving  fifteen  thousand  dollars. 
We  look  with  large  favor  on  the  purchasing  of  Life  Annuity 
Bonds  by  those  who  have  money  they  would  like  to  put  into 
this  sacred  cause  and  need  the  income  from  it  during  life. 
This  line  of  contribution  has  been  given  great  encouragement 
of  late  and  with  gratifying  success.  Fifty  thousand  dollars 
have  been  secured  by  this  means,  and  our  donors  seem  highly 
pleased  with  their  investment.  We  expect  large  increments 
from  this  source.     Our  ministers  have  splendid  opportunities, 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH  189 

by  cooperation  with  iis  along  these  lines,  to  render  large  and 
valnal)le  service  to  the  cause  which  should  be  dear  to  them. 

The  gathering  of  a  five  million  dollar  fund  would  be  a 
short  and  easy  task  for  our  two  million  members  if  everybody 
was  busy  at  the  task.  Yet  that  great  achievement,  as  an 
accomplished  fact,  seems  far  in  the  future.  A  friend  who 
was  kneeling  close  beside  the  preacher  who  was  praving  too 
loud  whispered,  "Don't  pray  so  loud.  The  Lord  is  not  deaf." 
Without  subduing  his  tones  the  man  responded:  "I  know  the 
Lord  is  not  deaf ;  but  He  is  a  long  way  of!  from  this  place.'' 
So,  we  are  compelled  to  admit  that  the  Five  Million  Dollar 
Fund  seems  a  long  way  oif.  But  we  are  pressing  on  to  the 
goal,  and  as  long  as  we  are  proceeding  there  is  a  prospect  of 
arriving.  AVith  $325,000  in  cash  holdings,  and  about  $425,- 
000  in  total  assets,  we  realize  that  our  growth  has  been  slow. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  detail  our  hindrances,  but  only  sufficient 
to  say  that  these  obstacles  are  fast  disappearing.  Our  fund 
never  before  had  as  fair  a  prospect  as  at  present.  During 
the  last  quadrennium  the  cash  assets  almost  doubled.  We 
have  every  reason  to  believe  that  during  the  present  quadren- 
nium the  sum  will  again  be  quite  duplicated;  a  faith  founded 
upon  the  legitimate  expectancy  of  growth,  as  well  as  on  the 
knowledge  of  other  sources  from  which  we  are  hopeful  of 
receiving  large  additional  amounts. 

Justice  and  Fair  Dealing 

We  are  coming  more  and  more  to  realize  that  a  comfortable 
support  for  our  claimants  inust  he  provided,  by  whatever 
honorable  means.  The  justice  and  fairness  of  a  guarantee 
of  life-long  sustenance  for  those  who  have  consecrated  them- 
selves to  a  life-long  service  of  religious  leadership  is  so  appar- 
ent that  it  scarcely  needs  to  be  stated.  The  vast  majority  of 
the  preachers  in  our  Church  receive  only  a  meager  living,  and 
many  are  pressed  financially  to  the  last  limit  in  order  to  be 
able  to  continue  their  labors  through  the  active  period  of 
their  lives.  It  is  impossible  out  of  their  small  salaries  to  save 
anything  for  old  age  and  disability.  Honestly  construed,  life- 
time surrender  to  a  great  public  life-service  means  life- time 
support.  There  are  those  who  tell  us  that  unless  our  ministry, 
both  active  and  retired,  are  more  comfortably  maintained,  we 
shall  soon  be  without  men  to  fill  our  itinerant  ranks.    We  are 


190  TIIE  I^ETIin^]D  MTXISTET7 

not  greatly  alarmed  at  this  warning,  and  thank  God  for  that 
spirit  in  our  itinerants  which  savors  not  of  the  things  that 
be  of  men.  They  are  held  to  their  serious  calling  by  conscien- 
tious convictions.  They  are  not  hirelings.  Like  the  great 
Japanese  Christian,  the  late  Joseph  Neesima,  "They  have  a 
plow  on  their  hands."  As  long  as  they  believe  that  they  are 
called  of  God  to  this  ministry  they  will  be  found  faithful, 
regardless  of  the  hardships  they  may  have  to  endure.  With 
all  this  we  realize  that  some  may  be  deterred  from  entering 
the  ministry,  and  others  diverted  to  other  lines  of  religious 
activity. 

Gratitude 

The  well-informed  among  us  are  filled  with  regret  and 
shame  as  they  recall  the  fact  that  so  many  preachers  and  their 
families  are  kept  on  the  depressed  plane  of  embarrassing 
poverty.  But  when  they  realize  the  heroism  which  makes 
such  a  ministry  possible,  their  sense  of  shame  disappears  in 
gratitude  to  God  for  the  noble  men  and  women  "who  count 
not  their  lives  dear  unto  themselves,  so  that  they  may  finish 
their  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  they  have 
received  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  The  heavy  hand  of  inadequate 
support  falls  with  crushing  weight  upon  many  circuit  preach- 
ers in  country  places  and  mountain  districts.  The  Church's 
greatest  debt  of  gratitude  is  due  these  earnest  preachers  for 
the  splendid  service  they  render  in  directing  the  doubtful  feet 
of  the  inexperienced  to  the  safe  paths  of  gospel  peace.  With 
no  prospect  or  opportunity  of  providing  for  the  proverbial 
"rainy  day,"  these  men  of  faith  move  quietly  and  sublimely 
onward  "making  many  rich,"  yet  themselves  remaining  poor. 
Sooner  or  later  they  reach  the  inevitable  day  of  retirement 
from  both  service  and  salary  to  a  mere  annual  pittance,  and 
to  a  trust  in  a  merciful  providence.  How  unfortunate  it  is 
when  age  and  want,  unseemly  yoke-fellows,  must  be  coupled 
together ! 

During  the  recent  session  of  my  Conference  I  visited  the 
reputed  spot  where  that  young  Southern  hero,  Sam  Davis, 
was  executed  in  18()3.  He  rose  to  posthumous  fame  because  he 
chose  to  surrender  his  life  rather  than  divulge  the  name  of  the 
person  who  had  confided  to  him  certain  information  which 
was  found  on  his  person.     To  the  reluctant  officers  who  did 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH  191 

everything  possible  under  the  military  restrictions  to  save 
his  life,  urging  him  repeatedly,  even  when  he  stood  upon  the 
death  scaffold,  to  divulge  the  name  of  his  informant, 
he  replied :  "Had  I  a  tliousand  lives  1  would  give  them  up 
before  I  would  betray  the  confidence  of  a  friend."  As  I  looked 
on  tlie  scene  of  that  tragedy  I  thought  of  the  honor  and 
heroism  of  that  youth  whose  name  will  be  handed  down  to 
coming  generations.  And  I  thought  also,  of  the  noble,  self- 
sacrificing  men  and  women  in  our  itinerant  ranks,  whose 
unheralded  names  are  worthy  to  be  recorded  in  the  heroic 
annals  of  the  ages  with  those  of  the  great  men  and  women 
of  the  Eepublic. 

The  time  is  coming  when  a  just  and  righteous  people  will 
honor  and  reward  such  Christlike  service  as  our  itinerant 
preachers  are  rendering,  and  will  count  it  a  privilege  and  a 
pleasure  to  make  their  old  age  an  evening  time  of  delight. 
The  churches  have  slept  long  beyond  their  wakening  time, 
but  are  now  putting  on  their  working  apparel  for  an  earnest 
and  strenuous  day's  toil,  the  closing  of  which  shall  witness 
that  in  the  future  there  shall  be  always  an  ample  competency 
for  the  weary  ministers,  the  lonely  widows  and  the  dependent 
orphans  of  Methodism. 

Nashville,  Tenn.  J.  E.  Stewart. 


WORN-OUT  PREACHERS 
Bishop  0.  P.  Fitzgerald 

"Worn-out  Preachers'' — that  is  the  right  word.  They 
are  not  tired  out;  they  are  not  driven  out  because  of  any 
wrongdoing;  they  are  not  drawn  out  by  any  hope  of  worldly 
gain  or  ease.  The  law  of  the  Church  says :  '^A  Superannuated 
Preacher  is  one  who  is  worn  out  in  the  itinerant  service."  I 
recently  looked  upon  the  picture  of  one  of  them,  the  face  of 
a  good  man  whom  I  have  long  known  and  highly  esteemed. 
The  face  bore  the  marks  of  physical  pain  and  of  weariness 
under  the  burdens  he  was  carrying.  In  its  expression  I  did 
not  read  discontent  or  complaint,  but  a  longing  for  the  call 
to  go  home  where  the  weary  rest.  This  thouglit  came  into  my 
mind:  "If  we  had  before  us  in  one  group  all  our  worn-out 
preachers,  what  a  study  it  would  present!"  Broken  and 
stooped,  with  wrinkled  faces,  whitened  hair,  and  eyes  that 


192  THE  KETIKED  MINISTER 

are  dimmed — some  things  about  them  remind  us  who  these 
men  are.  They  are  the  servants  of  God  who  have  fought  a 
good  fight,  men  who  have  performed  the  labor  of  love,  and 
are  exercising  now  the  patience  of  hope.  The  sight  of  them 
would  recall  their  lives,  their  heroism  that  was  unflinching, 
their  self-denial  that  was  not  merely  a  rhetorical  expression, 
their  patience  and  fortitude,  which  they  practiced  themselves 
as  they  had  preached  it  to  others.  They  are  good  faces — the 
faces  of  good  men.  Some  one  has  said :  ^'There  are  no  happy 
old  men  among  the  servants  of  Satan."  These  worn-out 
preachers  are  haj)py  in  God  in  the  midst  of  their  distress  and 
under  the  privations  which  have  fallen  to  their  lot.  And  their 
wives — mothers  in  our  Israel,  holy  women  who  have  shared 
their  toils,  who  have  kept  step  with  them  as  their  traveling 
companions  in  their  itineracy — the  picture  would  be  incom- 
plete without  them.  For  the  most  part  their  names  are 
unknown  in  the  world.  They  have  prayed  and  toiled  and 
ministered  with  no  thought  of  fame  or  worldly  profit  of  any 
sort,  but  the  blessings  of  God  have  followed  their  tracks. 
Their  names  are  written  in  God's  book  of  remembrance  with 
those  recorded  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 


THE  SUPEEANNUATE  ENDOWMENT  FUND 
Bishop  E.  E.  Hoss 

Let  us  imitate  here  the  wisdom  of  the  Eoman  Catholics, 
who  have  learned  how  to  wait.  They  expect  to  be  here  next 
year,  and  lay  their  plans  accordingly.  If  Methodism  is  to 
abide,  it  must  do  the  same  thing.  The  day  has  passed  for  mere 
temporary  expediencies.   We  must  take  the  ages  into  account. 

Surely  there  is  no  class  of  men  who  better  deserve  to  have 
their  old  age  protected  from  want  than  the  average  itinerant 
preacher.  Except  in  rare  instances  they  do  not,  even  in 
their  prime,  receive  more  salary  than  is  sufficient  to  meet  the 
current  expenses.  Many  of  them  fail  to  fare  even  that  well. 
Only  the  most  rigid  economy  and  self-denial  keep  them  out 
of  debt.  In  nearly  every  case  they  come  to  old  age  with  but 
scant  financial  resources.  Ofttimes  they  are  forced  to  drop 
out  of  the  ranks  homeless  and  penniless.  It  is  not  pretended 
that  the  collections  made  in  the  Annual  Conferences  furnish 
enouirh  to  meet  their  actual  wants. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH  193 

This  is  the  thing,  as  many  have  bitterly  learned,  that 
makes  the  coming  of  superannuation  such  a  dreadful  thing. 
After  a  man  has  been  thirty  or  forty  years  a  Methodist  Min- 
ister he  is  virtually  unfitted  for  any  other  work.  And  who 
wants  to  have  an  old  preacher?  What  place  is  there  left  for 
him  in  the  world?  With  thousands  of  eager  and  efficient 
young  men  seeking  employment,  he  is-  simply  crowded  out. 
To  me  it  is  a  pitiful  spectacle.  Once  in  a  while  I  meet  a 
venerable  brother  who  has  l)een  a  little  more  fortunate  or  a 
little  more  provident  than  the  rest  of  his  comrades  and  is 
spending  a  happy  and  comfortable  old  age  under  his  own 
vine  and  fig  tree,  and  I  am  always  happy  at  such  a  sight.  The 
plea  I  now  make  is  for  those  who  are,  if  not  down  and  out, 
at  least  in  great  straits.  If  I  were  younger,  I  should  like  to 
lead  a  crusade  in  their  behalf. 


THE  CHURCH'S  OBLIGATION 
Bishop  Collins  Denxy 
We  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  we  have  grown 
to  be  a  great  people,  amply  able  to  care  for  those  who  are 
legitimately  dependent  upon  us.  Any  lack  of  appreciation 
on  our  part  for  these  Veterans  is  a  serious  reflection  on  the 
Church.  Long  ago  we  should  have  devised  and  pressed  some 
wise  plan  for  a  better  care  for  these  old  preachers.  Any  steps 
that  we  can  now  take  which  will  accomplish  this  result  ought 
to  be  taken  with  gladness,  indeed,  with  enthusiasm.  W^e  are 
far  behind  our  English  brethren  in  this  matter.  God  has 
greatly  blessed  us  not  only  in  giving  us  increase  of  member- 
ship, but  also  in  increasing  the  resources  of  our  people.  Such 
provision  as  we  make  for  those  who  have  turned  away  from 
secular  pursuits  to  serve  Him  cannot  but  meet  His  blessins^. 


OLD  AGE,  THE  INDIAN  SUMMER  OF  LIFE 
Annual  Report,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church^  South 
God  designs  old  age  to  be  the  Indian  suiumer  of  life,  the 
gentlest,  the  tenderest,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  life's  seasons ; 
for  he  says :  "And  even  to  your  old  age  I  am  he ;  and  even  to 
hoary  hairs  I  will  carry  and  will  deliver  you."  God's  special 
care  and  love  for  old  age  marks  it  as  the  Indian  summer  of 
earth-'-s -pilgrimage;  ..... 


Crowned  Veterans 
"So  Great  a  Cloud  of  Witnesses" 


THE    CHURCH'S 
PROGRAM 

THE  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

THE  REV.  W.  B.  MATTESON,  D.D. 

Secretary  Baptist  Ministers'  Home  Society 


I  am  a  convinced  Baj^tist  and  believe  in  liberty,  democracy 
and  independency.  I  am  not,  however,  alone  among  Baptists 
in  realizing  that  we  pay  a  great  price  for  our  liberty.  Per- 
haps we  value  it  the  more  because  we  pay  so  much,  but  we 
are  not  blind  to  the  advantages  of  more  centralized  methods. 
Democracy,  either  in  political  or  ecclesiastical  affairs,  is  not 
synonymous  with  the  greatest  immediate  efficiency,  and  there- 
fore in  recent  years  our  denomination  has  made  a  serious 
effort  to  secure  closer  cooperation  without  abating  our  inde- 
pendency. In  1908,  we  created  the  Northern  Baptist  Con- 
vention as  an  instrument  of  common  expression  and  united 
action.  The  Convention  has  no  authority  but — what  we  think 
is  better — great  influence.  Although  at  first  looked  upon  with 
much  suspicion — Baptists  are  preternaturally  afraid  some  one 
is  going  to  try  to  "boss"  them — this  organization  has  already 
led  the  way  to  important  changes,  and  increasingly  com- 
mands our  respect  and  confidence. 

At  no  point,  perhaps,  has  our  polity  worked  to  greater 
disadvantage  than  in  the  problem  of  ministerial  relief.  The 
status  of  a  Baptist  minister  is  peculiar.  He  is  ordained  by 
the  local  church,  subject  to  its  discipline  and  to  its  discipline 
alone.  So  long  as  his  people  are  loyal,  a  Baptist  minister 
is  a  king  on  his  throne,  "his  right  there  is  none  to  dispute"; 
but  apart  from  the  local  church,  he  is  a  w^aif  and  a  stray.  He 
hardly  belongs  to  a  denomination.  The  denomination  did 
not  ordain  him,  exercises  no  real  supervision  over  him,  and, 
naturally  enough,  has  felt  no  great  responsibility  as  to  what 
became  of  him.  The  chief  reason  for  the  laggard's  place  we 
Baptists  occupy  in  the  work  of  ministerial  relief  lies  in  these 

195 


196  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

characteristics  of  our  polity.  Our  people  are  kind  and  gener- 
ous; they  are  quickly  responsive  to  any  call  of  real  suffering; 
but  in  the  absence  of  a  common  plan  or  general  supervision 
relief  has  been  given  in  a  haphazard  way,  as  a  sort  of  occa- 
sional and  incidental  charity;  with  little  appreciation  of  the 
real  dignity  and  importance  of  the  cause. 

Early  Okgaxizatioxs 

The  first  considerable  organization  among  us  for  this  work 
was  "The  Baptist  ^linisters'  Home  Society/'  organized  in  1882 
and  working  in  New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Connecticut.  A 
few  other  organizations  followed;  but  up  to  a  very  few  years 
ago  the  situation  was  chaotic.  In  addition  to  the  society 
just  named,  we  had  a  similar  organization  in  the  central  AYest 
covering  five  States ;  some  States  had  funds ;  some  associations 
had  small  funds ;  the  German  and  Danish  Baptists  did  some- 
thing among  themselves ;  but  there  were  great  gaps  in  between 
where  nothing  was  being  done  in  any  organized  way ;  and  such 
organizations  as  existed  were,  for  the  most  part,  feeble  and 
their  work  ineffectual.  One  of  the  very  first  things  done  by 
the  newly  created  Northern  Baptist  Convention  was  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  Ministers'  and  Missionaries'  Benefit  Board, 
charged  with  the  express  duty  of  overseeing  this  work,  filling 
in  the  gaps,  unifying  and  harmonizing  existing  agencies,  and 
pushing  forward  the  whole  work  to  greater  achievement.  The 
Board  called  to  its  secretaryship  Dr.  E.  T.  Tomlinson,  and 
in  1911  raised  an  endowment  of  $250,000.  The  Convention  in 
June,1914,  authorized  an  additional  million.  The  cause  is 
now,  for  the  first  time,  recognized  as  one  of  our  great  denomi- 
national causes,  and  is  regularly  put  on  the  apportionments. 
This  new  standing  has  already  secured  for  it  wider  recogni- 
tion and  more  generous  support. 

MixiSTERs'  Homes 

We  have  experimented  with  institutional  methods.  Our 
first  considerable  society,  "The  Baptist  Ministers'  Home 
Society,"  as  its  name  suggests,  was  organized  about  the  idea 
of  a  Home.  I  have  heard  it  claimed  that  this  was  the  first 
Home  established  in  this  country  expressly  for  old  ministers ; 
a  doubtful  honor.  Our  next  most  important  society,  the  one 
in  the  central  West,  also  centered  in  a  Home.     Through  the 


THE  BAPTIST  CHURCH  197 

munincence  of  Mr.  George  Xugent,  a  magnificent  Home  with 
generous  endowment,  was  established  in  Germantown,  Pa., 
and  a  fourth  Home  has  been  completed  recently  in  Southern 
California.  Altogether  they  represent  a  property  investment 
of  $180,000  and  endowments  of  $315,000.  The  Home  is  a 
beautiful  and  appealing  idea,  and  will  always  have  a  real 
place  in  this  work,  for  cases  will  occasionally  arise  that  cannot 
otherwise  be  as  well  provided  for;  but  as  a  method  of  dealing 
with  the  real  problem  of  ministerial  relief,  we  soon  found  it 
inadequate  to  the  point  of  futility.  We  have,  I  imagine,  done 
more  than  any  other  denomination  in  the  way  of  such  Homes, 
and  less  for  our  old  ministers !  Over-emphasis  on  Homes  has 
tended  to  blind  us  to  the  real  problem,  and  has  delayed  our 
recognition  of  the  actual  conditions. 

Relief  Plans 

Our  principal  method  has  been  that  of  relief.  The  societies 
which  were  originally  centered  in  Homes  soon  undertook  out- 
side relief;  the  New  York  society  practically  abandoned  its 
Home;  the  Michigan  society  does  much  more  outside  than 
inside.  Most  of  the  State  and  associational  funds  were  never 
otherwise  used.  Our  aim  has  not  gone  beyond  that  of  pre- 
venting or  relieving  actual  suffering.  The  usual  way  has 
been  to  grant  a  monthly  allowance,  of  from  ten  to  twenty-five 
dollars  per  month,  conditioned  on  a  minimum  of  honorable 
service,  but  otherwise  solely  determined  by  the  needs  of  the 
particular  case.  We  have  pensioned  old  ministers  and  given 
allowances  to  those  who  were  disabled,  and  to  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  those  who  died.  This  method  is  the  most  economi- 
cal and  adaptable  of  all.  It  has  worked  fairly  well,  and  we 
have  never  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  anyone  in  real  distress.  The 
chief  difficulty  has  been  that  our  ministers  often  object  to  it 
as  savoring  of  alms,  and  so  being  humiliating  and  pauperiz- 
ing. The  old  minister  who  wrote  me  that  "he  had  rather 
die  than  accept  our  help,"  spoke  for  many.  There  has  thus 
grown  up  among  us  a  strong  demand  for  some  method  less 
offensive  to  the  self-respect,  and  many  ministers  have  ex- 
pressed a  desire  for  a  contributory  plan,  by  which  they  could 
be  helped  to  help  themselves.  So  our  Benefit  Board  in  1914 
at  the  June  meeting  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention, 
brought  forward  a  'Troposed  Plan  for  the  Pensioning  of 


108  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

Baptist  Ministers/'  sul)staiitially  identical  with  that  which  is 
Ijein.g-  put  into  operation  by  the  ('on^Tegationalists;  and  very 
similar  to  that  which  was  inan<;urated  six  years  since  by  the 
l*resbyterians.  Thou^Ii  called  a  ''pension"  plan,  it  would  be 
more  accurately  described  as  an  insurance  plan.  Ministers 
are  to  pay  annual  premiums,  scaled  to  age,  sufficient  to  earn 
annuities  of  one  hundred  dollars  by  the  time  they  are  sixty- 
hve  years  old,  and  the  Cliurch  proposes  to  increase  this 
annuit}'  to  a  maximum  of  hve  hundred  dollars,  as  soon  as  it 
can  secure  the  necessary  funds.  Lesser  benefits  are  offered 
to  disabled  men;  and  still  less  to  widows  and  orphans.  The 
advantages  of  the  plan  are  obvious.  The  ministers  do  their 
fair  part,  and  this  in  itself  constitutes  a  strong  appeal  to  the 
Church  to  do  its  fair  part.  The  relation  is  strictly  con- 
tractual; the  Church  agrees  to  do  a  certain  thing  upon  con- 
dition that  the  minister  does  a  certain  other  thing.  No 
humiliating  questions  need  be  asked.  Need  has  nothing  to 
do  with  it.  Those  who  go  in  purchase  insurance  at  eighty  per 
cent  discount.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  the  plan  would  not 
be  safe  and  workable  without  large  endowments  the  disturb- 
ing doubt  with  us  is  as  to  the  possibility  of  enlisting  our 
ministers  generally  in  support  of  such  a  plan.  All  experience 
seems  to  be  against  the  success  of  contributory  plans,  when  the 
contribution  is  voluntary,  and  there  is  no  way  of  exercising 
compulsion.  Mr.  Lewis,  in  his  work  on  "State  Insurance" 
says,  "It  is  generally  agreed  that  plans  for  old  age  relief 
which  are  purely  optional  fall  far  short  of  reaching  the  evils 
which  they  seek  to  alleviate."  The  failure  does  not  lie  in  amy 
lack  of  benefit  for  those  who  go  in;  but  in  the  fact  that  so 
many,  and  those  generally  the  men  on  the  smaller  income, 
who  most  need  protection,  feel  unable  to  pay  the  premiums, 
and  so  do  not  go  in.  Such  experience  as  we  have  had  confirms 
our  fears.  Contributory  plans  tried  by  German  Baptists  and 
in  some  southern  States  have  failed  of  any  great  success. 

In  Massachusetts  we  have  some  approach  to  a  truly  pension 
system,  chiefly  through  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Ford,  of  Youth's 
Companion  fame,  who  bequeathed  nearly  $200,000  to  the 
State  Ministers'  Conference.  It  is  proposed  to  pay  to  every 
Baptist  minister,  who  has  given  at  least  ten  years  of  honorable 
service  in  that  State  and  who  has  reached  the  age  of  sixty- 
two,  a  pension  of  $20  for  each  year  of  service  up  to  twenty- 


THE  BAPTIST  CIIITECH  199 

five  years,  with  a  maxinnun  of  $500.  At  present  the  allowance 
is  $15  per  year,  a  maximum  of  $375.  Nineteen  men  are  now 
thus  pensioned  in  amounts  ranging  from  $155  to  $375. 
The  Conference  recognizes,  however,  that  brethren  in  need 
have  a  first  claim  upon  the  funds,  and  twenty- two  were  so 
helped  last  year.  Until  the  fund  has  been  increased  to  at 
least  a  half  million  dollars  they  will  be  unable  fully  to  carry 
out  their  purpose. 

S  U:\IMARY 

Our  work  is  being  done  through  so  many  different  and  un- 
related organizations,  and  with  so  much  diversity  of  method, 
that  it  is  very  difficult  to  summarize  the  results.  So  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the  Baptists  of  the  North  have 
property  dedicated  to  this  cause  valued  at  $170,000  and  en- 
dowments amounting  to  $1,370,000.  Last  year  they  cared  in 
all  for  404:  beneficiaries  (800  if  all  members  of  the  families 
helped  are  included),  and  expended  $88,567.  The  Baptists 
of  the  South  have  $170,000  in  endowment,  and  expended  last 
year  $4:1,4:18  for  416  beneficiaries.  Taken  all  together  we 
Baptists  have  in  property  and  endowment  $1,612,000,  and 
cared  last  year  for  820  persons,  at  an  expense  of  $132,986. 
Our  Baptist  experience  is  peculiarly  conditioned;  but,  for 
that  reason  has  its  contribution  to  make  to  the  problem. 

1.  Small  Salaries.  We  find  that  the  underlying  condi- 
tion of  dependency  is  inadequate  salaries.  The  chief  reason 
why  ministers  or  their  families  become  dependent  is  simply 
that  salaries  are  commonly  so  small  that  few  ministers  are 
able  to  provide  against  "the  rainy  day,''  or  to  save  enough  to 
be  independent  in  their  old  age.  We  cannot  hope,  therefore, 
to  finally  solve  the  problem  of  relief,  until  we  have  in  some 
way  secured,  especially  for  the  smaller  salaried  men,  a  sub- 
stantial increase  of  income.  We  have,  unfortunately,  no  real 
statistics  of  our  own  respecting  salaries,  but  according  to  the 
United  States  Census  Bulletin,  we  rank  fourth  among  the 
greater  denominations;  below  the  Episcopalians,  Presby- 
terians, Congregational ists  and  just  above  the  Methodists; 
paying  an  average  salary  of  $833,  or,  outside  of  the  large 
cities,  $683.  But,  as  these  statistics  are  based  on  reports  from 
only  sixty  per  cent  of  our  churches,  and  it  is  the  smaller 
churches  that  have   generally  failed  to   report,   the   figures 


200  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

given  are  probably  considerably  above  the  mark.  I  be- 
lieve it  to  be  a  very  generous  estimate  to  say  that  one  Bap- 
tist minister  in  ten  has  over  $1,000 ;  three  in  ten  over  $750, 
and  that  much  more  than  half  receive  less  than  $600.  Of 
the  service  actually  rendered  by  the  beneficiaries  of  the  Bap- 
tist Ministers^  Home  Society  in  New  York  State  over  a  period 
of  thirty-two  years,  sixty-three  per  cent  was  in  churches  which 
raised  for  all  home  purposes  last  year  less  than  $1,000.  The 
great  majority  of  our  beneficiaries  are  men  who  never  had 
a  salary  of  over  $G00  per  year.  They  did  not  save  because 
they  could  not  save. 

2.  Misfortunes.  But,  although  small  salaries  condition 
our  problem,  they  are  not  the  active  causes  of  dependency. 
Over  seventy  per  cent  of  all  dependency  is  due  to  misfortune, 
sickness,  unemployment  and  permanent  disability;  not  so 
much  to  old  age  as  to  the  infirmities  of  old  age;  and  for  the 
family,  to  the  death  of  the  wage  earner.  The  average  annual 
cost  of  sickness  in  the  United  States  is  estimated  at  $100  per 
family,  and  ministers  do  not  escape  their  share.  Some  start- 
ling statistics  in  the  last  Presbyterian  report  show  that  the 
loss  in  that  denomination  through  unemployment  would 
amount  to  a  reduction  of  over  $300  (or  more  than  twenty-five 
per  cent)  in  the  average  salary.  Both  these  risks,  sickness  and 
unemployment,  would  be  included  in  any  complete  plan  of 
protection.  They  are  not  included  in  any  plan  we  know, 
chiefly  because  of  their  cost.  Not  to  include  them  is  not  to 
eliminate  the  cost,  but  simply  to  refuse  to  distribute  is  to  let 
it  lie  where  it  falls;  and,  where  it  does  fall,  it  seriously  affects 
the  possibility  of  saving.  A  year  without  employment  would 
be  a  nearly  fatal  blow  economically  to  many  of  our  ministers; 
and  in  actual  practice,  men  so  affected  among  us  are  likely 
to  leave  the  ministry  entirely,  which  is  the  solution  of  de- 
spair! Though  we  have  only  very  incidentally  and  in- 
directly dealt  with  these  risks,  we  have  sought  to  protect  our 
ministers  and  their  families  against  the  major  misfortunes 
of  complete  disability,  old  age  and  death.  The  minister  who 
says,  "What  we  need  is  not  pensions  but  larger  salaries"  is 
right  in  his  affirmation.  But  he  is  entirely  wrong  in  his  im- 
plication that,  if  salaries  were  increased,  the  need  for  pen- 
sions would  disappear.  Let  salaries  i)e  increa.sed  beyond  any 
reasonable  hope,  and  tlie  five  great  misfortunes,  with  others 


THE  BAPTIST  CHURCH  201 

of  less  virulence,  still  lie  in  wait  to  devour  his  hopes.  With 
a  larger  salary  the  minister  could  a  little  better  protect  him- 
self, the  proportions  of  the  problem  would  be  somewhat  re- 
duced, but  protection  would  still  be  greatly  needed.  Men 
])eing  what  they  are  and  life  what  it  is,  no  increase  in  salary 
Avill  eliminate  nor  even  greatly  reduce  the  need  of  relief. 

3.  The  Eural  Problem.  Our  Baptist  problem  is,  in  a  large 
measure,  a  problem  of  the  rural  church.  We,  like  Methodism, 
are  a  country  Church, and  our  strength  is  in  the  towns,  villages 
and  rural  districts.  Seventy-three  and  four  tenths  per  cent  of 
our  total  population  dwell  outside  of  large  cities;  but  eighty- 
six  per  cent  of  the  Methodists  and  eighty-eight  per  cent  of  the 
Baptists  dwell  there.  In  New  York  State  twenty-one  per  cent 
of  the  population  live  in  communities  of  less  than  2,500  in- 
habitants; but  this  twenty-one  per  cent  supports  sixty-four 
per  cent  of  our  Baptist  churches.  When  the  rural  church  de- 
clines, we  die  at  the  roots,  and  we  know  how  serious  the  situ- 
ation is  to-day  in  the  country  churches.  All  agree  that  the 
only  2:)ossible  solution  is  to  put  trained  and  efficient  men  on 
these  fields.  But  to  find  such  men  and  keep  them  there  is  the 
great  difficulty.  This  is  a  matter  of  providing  decent  main- 
tenance. Conditions  of  ministerial  life  in  the  country  have 
greatly  changed  and  all  for  the  worse.  Among  us,  at  least, 
salaries  are  nominally  less  than  they  were  thirty  or  forty  years 
ago.  In  actual  purchasing  power,  when  everything  is  taken 
into  consideration,  the  country  minister's  income  has  declined 
nearly  half.  The  pastor  of  the  small  church  in  the  small 
village,  on  a  small  salary,  is  the  crux  of  our  situation.  The 
point  here  at  issue  is  of  great  importance  to  our  ministers ; 
but  it  is  vastly  more  important  to  our  Church.  AVe  shall 
stand  or  fall  with  the  rural  church.  We  must  stand  by  the 
country  pastor. 

4.  Disability  and  Widowhood.  A  careful  study  of  the 
records  of  the  Baptist  Ministers'  Home  Society,  during  a 
period  of  thirty-two  years,  shows  that  we  have  helped  more 
ministers  than  widows  and  orphans.  This  is,  I  believe,  con- 
trary to  the  usual  experience.  It  is  contrary  to  our  own  in 
later  years.  But  even  with  this  unusual  preponderance  of 
ministers  the  chief  cause  of  dependency,  in  the  experience 
of  this  society,  has  not  been  ministerial  old  age :  forty-four  per 
cent  has  been  due  to  the  death  of  the  wage  earner ;  forty  per 


202  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

cent  to  ministerial  old  age;  nine  per  cent  to  permanent  dis- 
abilit}-;  seven  per  cent  to  various  causes,  of  which  prolonged 
sickness  and  lack  of  employment  are  chief.  Without  attaching 
undue  importance  to  figures  based  on  so  limited  an  experience, 
the  fact,  confirmed  by  all  that  I  have  been  able  to  learn  of  the 
experience  of  other  similar  organizations,  seems  to  be  that  the 
greatest  need  is  not  pensions  for  old  age  but  protection  against 
disability  and  widowhood.  The  common  practice  of  giving 
a  lesser  benefit  to  the  widow  than  to  the  disabled  minister  is 
based  neither  on  justice  nor  correspondence  with  the  real 
need.  To  minimize  this  phase  of  our  work  in  order  to  em- 
phasize old  age  benefits  is  to  lose  touch  with  the  facts;  to 
stress  the  lesser  and  remoter  need  at  the  expense  of  that  which 
is  both  greater  and  nearer.  It  is  also  to  weaken  greatly  the 
strength  of  our  appeal  to  the  ministers  themselves.  We  are 
all  invincible  optimists  as  regards  the  risks  of  life.  Others 
may  be  hit ;  we  expect  somehow  to  escape.  Especially  is  a 
young  man  likely  to  be  optimistic  as  regards  the  risk  of  a 
dependent  old  age;  old  age  is  so  far  away,  and  dependency 
is  to  vigorous  youth  so  utterly  unthinkable !  So  many  things 
may  happen  before  that !  He  may  die ;  half  of  us  do ;  and  a 
considerable  part  of  the  other  half  drop  out.  The  average 
age  of  those  who  have  entered  the  Presbyterian  pension  plan 
is  stated  to  be  48.  Present  protection  makes  a  much 
stronger  appeal  than  future  pensioning  and  is  more  needed. 
5.  Our  Obligation  to  care  for  our  ministers  is  more  than 
sentimental.  It  is  primarily  a  matter  of  obedience  to  the 
first  Christian  injunction,  to  love  one  another  and  to  care 
for  the  brother  in  need;  an  obligation  of  peculiar  emphasis 
when  the  "brother"  concerned  is  one  who  has  devoted  his  life 
to  the  service  of  the  Church.  We  shall  never  get  beyond  this 
obligation  of  love,  nor  do  we  wish  so  to  do.  But,  the  first 
implication  of  love  is  justice.  Love  should  go  far  beyond 
justice,  but  it  is  less  than  love,  until  it  has  attained  to  justice. 
And  we  are  beginning  to  see  that  we  have  no  right  to  take  the 
lives  of  men,  consume  their  strength  and  devour  their  years, 
and  then,  when  we  have  squeezed  the  last  drop  of  vitality  out 
of  them,  cast  them  out  upon  the  rubbish  heap  and  forget  that 
they  ever  were !  If  we  fail  to  recognize  this,  we  are  in  the 
way  of  being  sharply  reminded.  The  underlying  principle 
of  all  modern   social   insurance — a  movement  with   a   long 


THE  BAPTIST  CHURCH  203 

history  abroad,  but  now  just  beginning  to  be  felt  in  America 
— is  that  every  industry  must  care  for  its  own  waste,  the 
waste  of  men  as  well  as  the  waste  of  material.  If  that  princi- 
ple ever  becomes  established  in  this  country — and  it  certainly 
will — the  recently  adopted  workingmen's  compensation  laws 
pointing  that  way,  the  time  will  come  wlien  Society  will  say 
to  the  Church,  "We  refuse  longer  to  joermit  you  to  cast  upon 
us  the  burden  of  caring  for  your  broken  men.  You  shall  have 
no  ministry,  unless  you  undertake  to  care  completely  for  your 
ministry."  Such  a  demand  would  be  as  just,  as  it  would  be 
humiliating.  Love,  justice,  self-respect  and  an  awakening 
sense  of  social  obligation  demand  that  we  care  for  our  own. 
6.  The  Young  Minister.  The  real  aim  of  all  our  plans 
is  not,  when  all  is  said,  to  help  the  old  minister,  but  the 
young;  the  ultimate  beneficiary  indeed  is  not  the  minister  at 
all  but  the  Church.  Our  problem  is  a  part  of  the  great  prob- 
lem of  securing  a  proper  maintenance  for  our  ministry,  and 
that  is  the  greatest  of  all  our  problems,  underlying  all  others, 
involving,  as  it  does,  the  efficiency  of  both  the  Church's  pres- 
ent and  future  leadership.  It  is  as  hopeless  as  it  is  cruel  to 
expect  efficient  service  on  beggarly  wages.  The  minister's 
wife  who  recently  told  me :  *^My  husband  could  preach  better 
sermons  if  he  did  not  have  to  worry  so  about  those  coal  bills," 
spoke  a  parable  of  wide  application.  We  do  not  ask  the 
Church  to  make  our  ministers  rich ;  we  prefer  them  poor ;  but, 
there  is  a  point  of  income,  widely  variable  in  particular  cases, 
below  which  the  minister,  cankered  with  care,  burdened  with 
material  anxieties,  ground  down  by  poverty,  unable  to  travel 
or  buy  books  or  otherwise  keep  himself  at  his  best,  begins 
to  lose  efficiency.  Oppressed  with  present  anxieties,  he  is 
gripped  with  fear  for  his  future.  What  would  become  of  his 
family  if  he  were  to  die  to-morrow?  What  would  become 
of  himself  or  of  them  if  he  were  to  be  permanently  incapaci- 
tated or  to  live  on  beyond  the  years  when  the  churches  would 
accept  his  services?  We,  who  are  laboring  at  this  problem 
of  protection,  do  not  directly  deal  with  the  salary  problem; 
but  we  do  touch  it,  and  that  at  its  sorest  point.  Our  aim  is 
to  persuade  our  people  to  say  to  the  minister  in  active  service 
to-day,  "Give  yourself  whole-heartedly  to  the  work;  spend 
yourself  freely ;  be  not  afraid ;  we  do  not  pay  you  such  salaries 
as  we  should,  but  this  at  least  we  do  solemnly  promise,  ^We 


204  THE  KETIRED  MINISTER 

will  stand  back  of  you;  if  yoii  fall  in  the  work  we  will  care 
for  you;  if  you  die,  we  will  not  permit  your  family  to  suffer; 
if  you  grow  old  in  it,  we  will  comfort  your  declining 
years/  "  If  we  could  but  so  say  that  as  to  carry  conviction  to 
the  men  on  the  hard  fields  and  the  small  salaries,  we  should 
put  new  heart  and  hope  into  them ;  we  should  vastly  increase 
their  efficiency ;  and  the  Church  would  be  the  real  beneficiary. 

7.  "Called^  Chosen^  Faithful/^  I  am  now  in  the  fourth 
year  of  service  in  this  cause,  and  am  glad  to  confess  that  the 
greatest  thing  these  years  have  brought  me  is  a  new  appre- 
ciation of  our  ministers.  Many  of  them  are  not  great  men, 
but  the  most  of  them  are  good  men,  faithful  and  hard  work- 
ing. I  think  often  of  this  incident.  A  London  preacher 
went  down  to  a  little  country  hamlet  to "  dedicate  a  tablet 
placed  in  the  chapel  in  memory  of  a  recently  deceased  pastor, 
who  for  many  years  had  labored,  unnoted  and  unsung,  in  an 
obscure  country  village.  Arriving  early,  the  London  preacher 
entered  the  little  building  and  stood  before  the  tablet.  Upon 
it  were  inscribed  the  name  of  the  pastor,  the  date  of  his  birth, 
the  date  of  his  death  and  only  these  further  words:  ^'Called, 
Chosen,  Faithful."  As  he  stood  pondering  the  inscription  an 
old  man  and  his  wife  came  and  stood  beside  him  silently  look- 
ing. After  a  little,  the  old  man  said  with  trembling  lips, 
"We  all  loved  him,  and  our  lives  are  better  because  he  lived 
among  us!"  Who  of  us  would  not  be  proud,  indeed,  if  we 
were  secure  of  such  an  epitaph — "C^alled,  Chosen,  Faithful," 
with  the  commentary  in  the  hearts  of  our  people,  "We  all 
loved  him,  and  our  lives  are  better  because  he  lived  among 
us"?  I  do  not  simply  believe,  I  know,  that  many  such  men 
are  numbered  among  our  pastors.  They  live  in  small  places ; 
the  world  little  notes  them ;  the  Church  bestows  upon  them 
no  honors;  they  bear  hardships  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ;  they  know  poverty  and  want  and  the  lack  of  all 
things;  but  they  have  been  Called  and  Chosen  and  they  are 
Faithful.  Their  people  love  them  and  are  indeed  better  for 
their  having  lived  among  them.  "I  honored  a  faithful  min- 
ister in  my  heart,"  said  Governor  John  Winthrop,  "and  could 
have  kissed  his  feet."  The  words  are  no  longer  extravagant. 
To  help  such  men  is  our  high  privilege :  we  could  ask  no  more 
joyful  service. 

Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y.  W.  B.  Matteson. 


j^iiL 

THE  CHURCH'S 

j^^m| 

i              PROGRAM 

mb^^^m 

1    RELIEF  IN  CONGREGATIONAL 

i                       CHURCHES 

Wm^^mm 

7        THE   REV.  WILLIAM  A.  RICE,  D.D. 

^w 

Corresponding  Secretary  Congregational  Board  of 

Ministerial  Relief  and  Annuity  Fund  for 

Congregational  Ministers 

It  was  not  until  1886  that  the  national  movement  for  the 
care  of  aged  ministers  was  inaugurated  by  the  National 
Council  of  The  Congregational  Churches  of  the  United  States. 
Prior  to  that  time  several  State  organizations  for  Ministerial 
Relief  had  been  making  a  very  small  and  inadequate  provision 
for  widows  and  Ministers.  Before  the  division  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  into  the  Unitarian  and  Orthodox  branches 
a  considerable  fund  had  been  gathered  in  Massachusetts, 
exclusively  for  widows  of  ministers.  This  fund,  amounting 
to  about  $160,000,  is  still  intact  and  is  administered  by  a 
joint  Board  of  the  two  Churches  for  the  benefit  of  both 
denominations.  There  are  fourteen  State  Eelief  Societies  of 
which  the  oldest.  New  Hampshire,  will  celebrate  its  one  hun- 
dredth anniversary  in  1915.  Several  State  Societies  have 
merged  with  the  National  Society.  The  fourteen  State  Soci- 
eties now  hold  permanent  endowment  funds  of  nearly  $100,- 
000  and  annually  distribute  about  $35,000  to  over  200  fam- 
ilies. 

The  National  Board 

The  National  Board,  now  in  its  28th  year,  has  gathered  an 
Endowment  Fund  of  about  $300,000  and  annually  receives 
from  all  sources  an  average  of  $50,000.  It  has  more  than 
200  families  on  its  roll  and  gives  to  them  over  $30,000  a  year. 

These  combined  forces  represent  endowments  of  about 
$700,000  and  annual  receipts,  including  interest  and  gifts 
for  endowment,  of  about  $85,000.  They  distribute  about 
$65,000  to  over  400  families,  representing  approximately  700 
dependent  ministers  and  their  wives,  widows  and  orphans. 

In  addition  to  the  work  of  these  Boards  of  Relief  the  Na- 
tional Council  at  its  meeting  in  Kansas  City  in  October,  1913, 
adopted  a  general  plan  for  ]\Iinisterial  Annuities,  and  com- 

205 


206  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

mitted  the  inauguration,  perfecting  and  promotion  of  the 
plan  to  the  Board  of  Relief  which  has  secured  a  separate 
charter  for  this  work,  known  as 

The  Annuity  Fund  for  Congrrgational  Ministers 

The  ohject  of  this  endeavor  is  to  provide  at  the  age  of 
sixty-live  or  seventy  an  annuity  of  hve  hundred  dollars  for 
the  remainder  of  the  minister's  life,  or  three  fifths  of  this 
sum  for  his  widow.  There  is  also  a  disability  annuity  in  case 
the  minister  is  totally  disabled  before  reaching  the  annuity 
age ;  also  a  provision  for  the  minor  children  until  they  become 
of  age.  The  annuity  provision  applies  only  to  those  Congre- 
gational ministers,  who  became  members  of  the  Fund  by  mak- 
ing annual  payments  of  premiums  which  according  to  actu- 
arial estimates  will  yield  one  fifth  of  the  amount  of  the  old  age 
pension  or  its  prior  provisions.  That  is,  the  minister  pur- 
chases one  fifth  and  the  churches  undertake  to  purchase  four 
fifths;  or  for  every  dollar  the  minister  puts  into  the  Fund, 
the  churches  are  to  be  asked  to  put  in  four  dollars.  The  pro- 
visions of  the  Annuity  Fund  are  applicable  mainly  to  the 
younger  ministers.  The  rates  are  very  reasonable  for  the  men 
who  are  under  forty,  though  they  are  available  for  men  older, 
up  to  fifty-five  and  even  more. 

The  Annuity  Fund  has  just  been  inaugurated  and  there- 
fore has  not  had  time  for  growth.  No  statistics  can  be  given. 
It  promises,  however,  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  achievements 
of  the  denomination. 

In  the  Congregational  churches  there  are  some  6,000  min- 
isters. The  average  salary  is  probably  about  $800.  This 
means  that  there  are  many  who  receive  much  less.  There  are 
over  1,300  churches  which  pay  salaries  of  not  over  $500. 
It  is  absolutely  necessary,  therefore,  for  the  churches  as  a 
whole  to  make  more  adequate  provision  for  the  periods  of  old 
age,  infirmity,  sickness  and  incapacity.  Our  churches  are 
awakening  to  this  responsibility  as  never  before  and  are  en- 
deavoring to  accomplish  this  end  through  their  Boards  of 
Relief  and  the  Annuity  Fund. 

William  A.  Rice. 

New  York. 


THE    CHURCH'S 
PROGRAM 

THE    CONGREGATIONAL 
CHURCH 

THE  REV.  SAMUEL  L.  LOOMIS,  D.D. 

Trustee  Annuity  Fund  for  Congregational 
Ministers 


We  Are  I'roud  of  Our  Kindred.  The  Congregational  body 
is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  oldest  branches  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  America,  and  looks  back  with  what  we 
]iope  may  be  considered  a  pardonable  pride  nj)on  our  spiritual 
ancestry.     She  may  be,  perhaps,  a  bit  over-conscious  that, 

"Still  she  keeps  the  ancient  stock 
And  stubborn  strength  of  Pilgrim  Hock," 

yet  I  assure  you  that  she  takes  much  greater  pride  and  satis- 
faction in  contemporary  kindred  than  in  remote  ancestry; 
and  in  no  member  of  the  family  does  she  have  greater  joy 
than  in  the  vigorous,  abounding  life,  astonishing  progress 
and  mighty  achievement  of  her  younger  sister,  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

We  Are  Rich  in  Hope.  Beware,  little  sister,  that  you 
do  not  think  of  us  as  old,  even  though  we  have  seen  a  few 
more  summers  than  you;  for  our  eyes  are  not  yet  dim,  nor 
our  natural  force  abated,  and  above  all  we  are  supremely 
rich  in  that  quality  which  is  the  characteristic  sign  of  youth, 
Hope. 

I  remember  once  hearing  a  charming  after-dinner  speech 
by  Joe  Jefferson,  who  said  that  old  men  are  sad,  not  so  much 
because  of  weakness  and  infirmity,  but  for  lack  of  that  most 
enjoyable  factor  of  life:  Hope.  Old  men,  having  little  or 
nothing  to  look  forward  to,  live  in  the  past.  He  therefore 
recommended  gardening  "because  it  is  always  pointing  for- 
ward, always  giving  one  something  to  expect."  When  you 
hear  about  our  work  you  will  realize  that  in  the  Department 
of  Ministerial  Relief,  at  least,  we  show  no  signs  of  senility; 

207 


208  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

for  though  we  have  little  to  boast  of  by  way  of  achievement, 
we  are  exceedingly  rich  in  expectations. 

A  System  of  Pensions.  The  Congregational  Board  of 
Ministerial  Relief  has  two  functions  which,  though  kindred 
in  nature,  are  entirely  separate  and  distinct. 

In  the  first  place,  by  a  system  of  modest  pensions  it  pro- 
vides for  the  necessities  of  those  Veteran  Ministers  who  have 
been  unable  to  make  adequate  personal  provision  for  old  age 
and  infirmity.  While  these  pensions  do  not  go  to  all  aged 
ministers,  but  only  to  the  small  number  whom  the  evening  of 
life  finds  in  special  want,  we  are  careful  to  emphasize  the 
fact  that  this  money  is  not  to  be  thought  of  as  a  charitable 
gift,  but  rather  as  a  well-earned  and  honorable  reward  offered 
by  the  Church  to  disabled  but  unconquered  soldiers  of  the 
cross.  This  part  of  our  work  has  been  going  on  for  many 
years  and  will  doubtless  be  continued  for  years  to  come.  In 
thirteen  States  it  has  been  carried  on  by  local  societies  for. 
ministerial  relief  in  cooperation  with  the  National  Board. 
Besides  providing  the  required  pensions,  we  have  made  a  fair 
start  in  the  direction  of  endowment,  having  raised  $670,000 
for  this  purpose.  We  feel  keenly  that  the  pensions  hitherto- 
provided  are  quite  too  small.  Three  hundred  dollars,  in  some. 
States  four  hundred  dollars,  is  our  maximum.  We  have  great: 
hope  that  this  sum  may  be  increased  30  or  40  per  cent. 

An  Annuity  Eund.  A  second  function  of  the  Board  of 
Ministerial  Relief  is  that  of  establishing  and  conducting  an 
Annuity  Fund  for  the  benefit  of  all  Congregational  ministers 
who  are  willing  and  able  to  comply  with  its  conditions.  This 
is  a  new  task.  In  1913  we  presented  to  the  National  Council 
of  Congregational  Churches  a  report  touching  the  economic 
condition  of  our  ministers  and  their  necessities,  together  with 
a  practical  plan  for  their  relief. 

The  Minister's  Economic  Condition.  The  Board  pro- 
nounced it  a  matter  of  imperative  importance  that  some  effec- 
tive measures  for  the  relief  of  our  ministers  be  set  on  foot. 
At  once  upon  entering  the  ministry  a  man  gives  up  the  usual 
opportunities  of  making  money,  and  the  hope  of  possessing 
many  of  the  luxuries  or  larger  comforts  of  life,  things  which 
by  education  and  culture  he  is  fitted  to  appreciate.  These  he 
cheerfully  surrenders  for  Christ's  sake  and  the  gospel's.  In 
return  for  such  sacrifice,  it  is  only  right,  if  he  be  a  faithful 


THE  CONGEEGATIONAL  CHURCH  209 

man  of  fair  ability,  that  his  profession  should  afford  him  a 
living  of  secure  and  moderate  comfort  up  to  the  very  end  of 
his  days.  This  was  the  idea  of  our  fathers,  and  it  accords 
with  the  Master's  teachings  that  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his 
hire.  In  the  life  of  the  modern  Protestant  Church  we  have, 
however,  fallen  far  below  this  ideal.  Professor  Eauschenbusch 
affirms  that  our  ministers  properly  belong  to  the  proletariat; 
their  wages  rarely  ample,  generally  meager  and  often  pitifully 
small;  their  emj^loyment  irregular,  uncertain,  and,  as  they 
advance  in  years,  increasingly  difficult  to  find ;  many  of  them 
having  no  fixed  abode,  but  drifting  from  city  to  city  and  from 
village  to  village,  with  but  the  slightest  opportunity  of  saving 
for  themselves;  dependent  for  support  in  old  age  upon  chil- 
dren, kindred  or  friends. 

The  Present  Situation  is  Deplorable.  The  average 
salary  is  barely  a  thousand  dollars.  Multitudes  of  faithful 
men  receive  much  less  than  that,  and  only  thirteen  out  of 
every  hundred  exceed  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  The  attempt 
to  live  and  provide  for  a  family  upon  such  incomes,  especially 
within  the  past  few  years,  can  mean  but  one  thing,  that  for 
thousands  of  our  preachers  life  is  a  steady  fight  with  poverty, 
a  struggle  that  bears  with  special  severity  upon  ministers' 
wives.  And  this  is  not  the  worst  of  it.  The  average  minister 
has  before  him  the  cheerless  prospect  that  at  the  portals  of  old 
age,  even  this  meager  income  will  cease,  and  he,  whose  narrow 
means  have  made  saving  almost  impossible,  having  no  further 
opportunity  to  earn  a  living  by  his  chosen  profession,  will  be 
thrown  into  a  position  of  humiliating  dependency.  Such 
conditions  are  alike  unjust  to  the  Christian  minister  and 
discreditable  to  the  Church. 

Society,  long  committed  to  the  principle  that  the  old  age 
of  public  servants  should  be  provided  for,  has  in  recent  years 
been  giving  wide  extension  to  that  principle.  Pensions  are 
granted  to-day,  not  to  old  soldiers  only,  but  to  railroad 
employees,  to  veteran  police  and  firemen,  to  teachers  and 
professors,  and  to  employees  of  great  corporations.  It  is  high 
time  for  the  Church  to  begin  treating  with  more  systematic 
and  considerate  care  the  old  age  of  Veteran  Preachers. 

Usefulness  of  Pensions.  Such  provision  should  increase 
a  minister's  efficiency.  To  be  assured  that  he  has  something 
coming  to  him  in  the  day  of  need  would  release  a  man  from 


210  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

anxiety,  alTord  him  a  comfortal)le  sense  of  security,  and 
enable  him  to  give  an  undivided  mind  to  his  great  work. 
Relieved  from  the  necessity  of  saving  every  possi])le  penny 
against  the  evil  day,  he  might  have  somewhat  more  to  spend 
on  the  necessities  of  life,  the  wholesome  and  al)undant  food 
that  makes  one  fit  for  work,  the  decent  clothing  required  both 
for  self-respect  and  the  respect  of  the  community,  and  the 
books  that  are  the  essential  tools  of  the  preacher's  trade. 

Such  provision  should  also  tend  to  lengthen  the  period  of 
his  activity  in  pastoral  service.  Our  present  method  of  deal- 
ing with  ministers  is  unspeakably  wasteful.  On  the  one  hand, 
we  complain  of  the  meager  supply  of  preachers,  and  plead 
with  young  men  to  enter  the  profession,  while  on  the  other  we 
are  throwing  away,  by  scores  and  hundreds,  fully  trained  and 
equipped  men  at  the  very  summit  of  their  power.  A  minister 
at  fifty  years  of  age,  if  his  health  be  unimpaired  and  if,  escap- 
ing the  snares  of  indolence,  he  has  been  giving  his  whole  heart 
to  his  calling,  is  worth  much  more  to  any  church  than  he 
was  worth  at  forty,  and  immeasurably  more  than  at  thirty. 
Any  loss  of  youthful  ardor  is  much  more  than  replaced  by 
his  increased  richness  and  ripeness  of  mind,  his  practical 
wisdom,  his  growth  in  tenderness  of  heart  and  in  spiritual 
power.  Yet,  these  fundamental  facts  of  ministerial  experi- 
ence very  frequently  have  no  weight  whatever  with  churches ; 
for  if,  for  any  reason,  the  minister  of  fifty  or  more  loses  his 
pulpit,  he  finds  it  extremely  difficult  to  find  another.  Churches 
seeking  for  a  man  of  his  very  type  will  pass  him  by  without 
consideration,  their  dominant  reason  being  the  fear  that  if 
they  take  him  they  may  in  a  few  years  ^'have  an  old  man  on 
their  hands." 

At  whatever  age  he  may  have  been  called  to  a  church,  it 
must  certainly  be  a  disagreeable  task  to  dismiss  a  worthy  and 
beloved  pastor  because  he  is  too  old  to  serve  efficiently,  espe- 
cially when  he  has  no  competence  beyond  his  salary.  Few 
churches  can  afford  to  retire  him  on  half-pay.  It  is  deemed 
simpler,  in  order  to  avoid  all  such  embarrassments,  to  choose 
a  younger  man  as  minister  and  then  let  him  go  before  he 
becomes  old.  However  strongly  one  may  disapprove  this 
policy,  he  must  recognize  the  fact  that  the  condition  exists, 
and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  proper  provision  for  the 
minister's  old  age  will,  in  a  measure,  serve  to  rectify  it.     If 


THE  CONGEEUATIOlSrAL  CHURCH  211 

the  Church  could  feel  that  his  old  age  was  i^artly  provided  for 
there  might  he  greater  willingness  to  employ  him  in  the  later 
and  more  effective  years  of  his  maturity.  On  the  other  hand, 
by  tending  to  enhance  the  dignity  and  security  of  the  minis- 
terial office  such  provision  would  be  influential  in  persuading 
young  men  to  enter  the  ministry.  The  clergyman's  unfortu- 
nate economic  condition  has  doubtless  had  no  small  influence 
in  withholding  them  from  the  profession.  It  is  not  that  our 
youth  lack  the  heroic  spirit,  the  willingness  to  make  sacrifices ; 
but  it  is  one  thing  to  sacrifice  yourself  and  quite  another  to 
sacrifice  your  wife  and  children.  Not  every  sacrifice  is  noble. 
That  which  involves  the  crippling  of  one's  powers,  the  narrow- 
ing of  one's  opportunities,  and  the  diminution  of  one's  influ- 
ence is  always  of  questionable  wisdom.  If  we  wish  to  secure 
for  the  Christian  ministry  the  best  of  our  young  men,  we  must 
take  all  possible  pains  to  make  the  minister's  place  one  of 
dignity  and  genuine  opportunity. 

The  Proposed  Plaj^.  In  view  of  these  facts  and  condi- 
tions, the  Board  of  Ministerial  Eelief  presented  to  the  Na- 
tional Council  a  definite,  practical  plan  to  be  known  as  "The 
Annuity  Fund  for  Congregational  Ministers,"  by  means  of 
which  a  certain  modest  provision  might  be  made  in  the  future 
for  any  and  every  Congregational  minister  who  should  find 
himself  willing  and  able  to  enter  into  the  proposed  arrange- 
ment. This  plan  was  adopted  by  the  Council  by  a  practically 
unanimous  vote.  The  Board  was  directed  to  take  such  steps 
as  might  be  necessary  to  set  it  on  foot  and  make  it  effectiAC, 
and  was  authorized  to  undertake  the  raising  of  a  two  million- 
dollar  fund,  the  income  of  which  should  be  applied  to  this 
purpose.  The  plan  rests  upon  three  fundamental  principles : 
_  1.  That  every  minister  for  whom  an  annuity  is  to  be  pro- 
vided should  himself  help  to  provide  it  by  regular  payments 
during  the  productive  period  of  his  life ; 

2.  That  every  church  should  be  taught  to  regard  its  fair 
share  of  the  necessary  cost  of  properly  providing  for  the  old 
age  of  Congregational  ministers  as  a  part  of  its  ordinary  fixed 
expenses ; 

3.  That  every  man  of  ample  means  among  us  should  be 
made  acquainted  with  this  fund  as  affording  one  of  the  safest, 
sanest  and  best  investments  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 


212 


THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 


We  append  the  table  of  rates  of  ministers'  payments  for 
annuities  to  begin  at  age  of  sixty-five. 


Eates  of 

Payment  for 

Annuities  Congregational 

Church 

Annuity  Payment  to  Ministers  to  begin  at 

sixty-five. 

Semi- 

Quar- 

Semi- 

Quar- 

Age 

Annual 

Annual 

terly 

Age 

Annual 

Annual 

terly 

21 

$21.47 

$11.05 

$5.69 

39 

$36.36 

$18.72 

$9.63 

22 

21.52 

11.08 

5.70 

40 

38.22 

19.68 

10.13 

23 

21.57 

11.11 

5.71 

41 

40.25 

20.73 

10.67 

24 

21.77 

11.21 

5.77 

42 

42.48 

21.88 

11.26 

25 

22.13 

11.39 

5.86 

43 

44.93 

23.14 

11.91 

26 

22.57 

11.62 

5.98 

44 

47.64 

24.53 

12.62 

27 

23.09 

11.89 

6.12 

45 

50.61 

26.06 

13.41 

28 

23.70 

12.21 

6.28 

46 

53.93 

27.77 

14.29 

29 

24.38 

12.56 

6.46 

47 

57.64 

29.68 

15.27 

30 

25.15 

12.95 

6.66 

48 

61.77 

31.81 

16.37 

31 

26.00 

13.39 

6.90 

49 

66.45 

34.22 

17.61 

32 

26.93 

13.87 

7.14 

50 

71.77 

36.96 

19.02 

33 

27.96 

14.40 

7.41 

51 

77.84 

40.09 

20.63 

34 

29.08 

14.98 

7.71 

52 

84.86 

43.71 

22.49 

35 

30.28 

15.59 

8.02 

53 

93.02 

47.91 

24.65 

36 

31.62 

16.14 

8.24 

54 

102.66 

52.87 

27.20 

37 

33.06 

17.03 

8.76 

55 

114.22 

58.82 

30.27 

38 

34.63 

17.84 

9.18 

Eates  for  annuities  to  begin 

at  age 

of  seventy. 

Semi- 

Quar- 

Semi- 

Quar- 

Age 

Annual 

Annual 

terly 

Age 

Annual 

Annual 

terly 

40 

$25.89 

$13.33 

$6.86 

51 

$45.45 

$23.41 

$12.04 

41 

27.01 

13.91 

7.16 

52 

48.44 

24.95 

12.84 

42 

28.44 

14.65 

7.54 

53 

51.77 

26.68 

13.72 

43 

29.55 

15.22 

7.83 

54 

55.53 

28.60 

14.72 

44 

30.97 

15.95 

8.21 

55 

59.77 

30.78 

15.S4 

45 

32.52 

16.75 

8.62 

56 

64.61 

33.27 

17.12 

46 

34.21 

17.62 

0.07 

57 

70.19 

36.15 

18.60 

47 

36.06 

18.57 

9.56 

58 

76.71 

39.51 

20.33 

48 

38.08 

19.61 

10.09 

59 

84.42 

43.48 

22.37 

49 

40.29 

20.75 

10.68 

60 

93.69 

48.25 

24.83 

50 

42.75 

22.01 

11.33 

Samuel  L.  Loomis. 


Westfield,  N.  J. 


THE   CHURCH'S 
PROGRAM 

DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST 

THE  REV.  W.  R.  WARREN,  D.D. 

Secretary  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief, 
The  Church  of  Christ 


In  the  beginning,  and  for  the  first  seventy-five  years  of 
their  history,  most  Ministers  among  tlie  Disciples  supported 
themselves  wholly  or  in  part  by  work  in  other  callings.  This 
was  comparatively  easy,  since  they  were  largely  a  rural  people. 
Possibly  this  compelled  them  to  be  a  rural  people.  Alexander 
Campbell  himself  was  a  prosperous  farmer,  as  well  as  a  su-c- 
cessful  publisher,  along  with  his  distinguishing  labor  as 
preacher,  educator  and  writer. 

The  persistence  of  the  type  was  strengthened  by  the  reac- 
tion against  the  distinction  between  clergy  and  laity;  and  the 
natural  instinct  of  economy  mightily  reinforced  the  rebellion 
against  a  "hireling  ministry."  The  doctrine  of  plain  meeting 
house  and  unsalaried  preacher  was  full  of  comfort  to  the 
thrifty  soul.  But  as  the  farmer  of  the  Middle  West  was  also 
a  hospitable  soul,  the  churches  multiplied  through  the  upper 
Mississippi  Valley. 

Of  course  many  churches  were  planted  at  an  early  date  in 
cities  and  towns.  These  were  strengthened  and  others  were 
started  by  the  general  urban  trend  of  population.  Increas- 
ingly the  larger  churches  thus  developed  required  the  full 
time  and  undivided  attention  of  their  Ministers.  The  first 
salaries  were  small,  and  as  the  men  approached  retirement  it 
became  manifest  that  some  provision  must  be  made  for  their 
old  age,  as  well  as  for  disasters  that  might  sooner  overtake 
them.  So  in  1885  the  General  Missionary  Convention  under- 
took to  effect  a  national  organization  of  the  work  that  was 
already  being  done  locally  in  many  quarters  and  by  the  whole 
State  of  Missouri. 

213 


214  THE  RETIEED  MINISTEE 

Not  until  1895,  however,  was  a  permanent  organization 
formed,  throuoli  the  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  incor])oi'ated  iji  1897  Avith  headquarters  in 
Indianapolis.  In  its  Permanent  Fund  are  two  items  that 
commemorate  tlie  earlier  efforts:  "The  Missouri  State  Fund, 
$800"  and  "Scott  Fund,  held  in  Trust  hy  the  American  Chris- 
tian Missionary  Society,  $2000."  The  latter  came  from  a 
bequest  paid  in  1887. 

The  prime  mover  in  establishment  of  the  Board  was  Mr. 
A.  M.  Atkinson,  a  business  man  of  Wabash,  Indiana.  Together 
with  W.  S.  Priest,  W.  F.  Cowden,  W.  F."  Richardson  and 
N.  S.  Haynes,  he  was  appointed  on  the  Committee  on  Min- 
isterial Relief  at  the  International  Convention  of  1894,  in 
response  to  a  memorial  from  the  State  Convention  of  Col- 
orado, where  Mr.  R.  H.  Sawyer  had  agitated  the  question. 
During  the  year  ex-Governor  Ira  J.  Chase,  one  of  Indiana's 
greatly  admired  preachers,  died  suddenly,  leaving  his  wife 
totally  blind  and  helpless.  Mr.  Atkinson  at  once  raised  a 
fund  for  her  support,  and  while  doing  so,  became  so  deeply 
impressed  with  the  necessity  of  general  and  concerted  action 
that  he  devoted  the  rest  of  his  life  and  much  of  his  means  to 
the  cause,  dying  in  1899,  during  the  Cincinnati  Convention 
at  the  close  of  an  impassioned  address  to  a  group  of  fellow 
business  men,  his  last  words  being,  "Quit  you  like  men !" 

After  Mr.  Atkinson,  the  leadership  fell  to  Mr.  Howard 
Cale,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Indianapolis,  the  generous  efforts 
of  Chaplain  J.  B.  McCleery,  U.  S.  A.,  retired,  having  been 
cut  short  by  death.  When  Mr.  Cale  died,  in  1904,  the  Rev. 
A.  L.  Orcutt,  a  highly  esteemed  Indianapolis  minister,  suc- 
ceeded him  as  President  of  the  Board,  having  served  several 
years  as  its  Secretary. 

For  two  years  the  work  was  carried  on,  as  best  it  could  be, 
in  connection  with  his  pastorate,  and  then  he  was  asked  to 
give  his  full  time  to  the  effort  of  promoting  the  cause  from 
the  office,  with  but  little  expense  of  travel.  The  operation  of 
the  law,  "To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given/'  was  not  yet  on 
the  side  of  the  Board.  Its  small  outlay  brought  meager 
increase  of  receipts  from  year  to  year,  and  though  the  expense 
was  held  down  to  the  minimum  the  percentage  was  ruinously 
high.  The' first  year's  receipts,  1896,  were  $5,340.  In  1910, 
they  were  $14,306. 


THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CIIEIST  215 

But  information  was  spreading  and  conviction  ripening  for 
a  more  marked  advance,  which  was  started  by  another  devoted 
business  man,  who  in  1911  generously  proposed  that,  if  the 
Brotherhood  would  raise  $20,000  the  next  year,  he  would 
add  twenty  per  cent  to  it,  and  in  the  same  proportion  up  to 
$30,000,  and  would  continue  to  do  so  for  five  years.  When 
it  proved  impossible  to  bring  this  challenge  home  to  the 
people  effectively  from  an  office,  the  Board  called  W.  R. 
Warren  to  become  Secretary,  in  the  belief  that  his  four  years' 
experience  as  Centennial  Secretary  would  assure  prompt 
success.  Eleven  months  had  brought  in  only  a  little  over 
$8,000,  leaving  $12,000  to  get  in  one  month  in  order  to 
secure  the  $4,000  extra.  By  providential  intervention  and 
extra  effort  the  goal  was  reached.  Every  one  of  the  three 
State  Conventions,  three  churches  and  one  hundred  and  seven 
individuals  that  were  seen  responded  generously,  while  only 
one  of  the  sixty  letters  written  brought  an  offering,  and  that 
from  a  member  of  the  Board.  In  1913  $5,325  was  received 
on  the  twenty  per  cent  proposition  and  in  1914,  the  full 
$6,000. 

In  the  two  years  during  which  the  Board  has  been  in  the 
field  with  but  a  minimum  equipment  for  a  continental  work, 
the  total  receipts  have  grown  from  $17,317  to  $39,686,  and 
the  Permanent  Fund  has  increased  from  $31,514  to  $69,274. 
At  the  same  time  we  have  had  full  fellowship  with  the  other 
national  boards  in  the  Men  and  Millions  Movement,  which 
is  expected  to  add  $200,000  to  our  Permanent  Fund. 

From  the  first  the  rule  has  been  to  add  to  the  roll  every 
applicant  who  on  investigation  was  found:  First,  To  have 
given  his  life  wholly  to  the  ministry,  any  other  work  having 
been  only  incidental;  Second,  To  have  lived  "as  becometh 
the  GospeP;  Third,  To  be  without  other  sufficient  support. 
Until  the  advance  of  two  years  ago  this  kept  the  maximum 
payment  down  to  $25  or  $30  per  quarter.  The  revival  of 
interest,  it  develops,  came  just  in  time  to  meet  greatly 
increased  demands,  and  has  been  strong  enough  to  enable  us 
to  increase  payments  to  as  high  as  $25  and  $30  per  month, 
and  in  one  instance,  $40. 

In  1913  the  retired  missionaries  of  both  the  Foreign  Chris- 
tian Missionary  Society  and  the  Christian  Woman's  Board 
of  Missions  were  added  to  the  pension  roll,  payments  being 


216  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

made  through  those  boards,  which  in  many  instances  add  an 
aHowance  out  of  their  own  treasuries. 

On  September  30,  1914,  the  pension  roll  carried  111  names: 
GO  ministers,  43  widows  and  8  missionaries,  a  net  gain  of 
26  during  the  year.  The  total  of  pensions  paid  was  $19,356, 
a  gain  of  $5,590.  The  average  was  $190,  a  gain  of  $62  in  two 
years.  One  received  $435;  sixteen,  $300  to  $360;  nineteen, 
$200  to  $295;  thirty-nine,  $120  to  $180;  nineteen  $60  to  $80; 
and  seven,  smaller  sums  for  parts  of  the  year. 

The  average  age  of  ministers  pensioned  on  account  of  old 
age  is  74  years;  of  those  pensioned  for  other  disabilities,  51 
years;  of  the  whole  list,  70  years;  of  the  widows,  65  years. 
The  average  ministerial  service  of  the  ministers  on  the  roll 
was  33  years;  of  the  widows,  30  years;  the  total  ministerial 
work  represented  by  the  111  names  being  3,539  years. 

Money  received  from  Annuity  Bonds,  Bequests  and  the 
larger  individual  gifts  is  added  to  the  Permanent  Fund, 
which  is  loaned  at  6  per  cent  on  improved  real  estate  in  and 
near  Indianapolis,  where  it  is  exempt  from  taxation  and 
can  be  looked  after  by  the  Board^s  officers. 

The  Sunday  before  Christmas  is  the  regular  day  for  the 
presentation  of  the  work  in  the  churches.  Better  results  are 
coming  from  the  Every-Member  Canvass  and  the  Missionary 
Budget.  The  number  of  contributing  churches  and  Sunday 
schools  in  1914  was  910,  a  gain  of  105.  For  1915  the  Board 
has  united  with  the  other  national  societies  in  presenting  a 
joint  apportionment  to  about  8,000  churches.  Considerable 
interest  is  being  taken  by  the  Sunday  schools  in  our  sugges- 
tion that  they  adopt  the  "White  Gifts  for  the  King"  Christ- 
mas service  and  devote  their  "Gifts  of  Substance'^  to  "Min- 
isterial Relief;  for  those  who,  having  given  self  and  service 
fully  until  disabled,  should  be  made  guests  at  the  King's 
table."  The  supplies  are  furnished  free  to  such  schools  as 
promise  to  give  their  offerings  to  the  fund. 

The  custom  of  our  Annual  International  Convention  is  to 
make  an  offering  to  Ministerial  Relief  in  the  Sunday  after- 
noon Communion  service.  At  the  Centennial  in  Pittsburgh, 
in  1909,  this  amounted  to  $2,619.  In  Toronto  in  1913,  on 
the  statement  that  half  of  the  amount  received  would  be  used 
for  the  benefit  of  the  three  sons  of  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Eldred,  mis- 
sionaries who  had  both  died  in  Africa  during  the  year,  $3,623 


THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHPJST 


217 


was  given.  Sliortly  afterward  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Hugh  T. 
Morrison,  of  Springfield,  111.,  undertook  the  full  care  and 
expense  of  rearing  the  boys  in  their  home  and  as  their  own. 
A  notable  example  of  the  work^s  beneficence  was  furnished 
lasi  year  in  the  case  of  a  prominent  minister,  whose  health 
broke  so  completely  that  it  was  thought  he  could  never  preach 
again.  The  relief  from  anxiety  and  the  sense  of  fellowship, 
Vvdiich  the  assurance  of  a  monthly  pension  brought,  enabled 
him  to  recover  so  rapidly  and  completely  that  after  two  pay- 
ments he  took  a  less  exacting  charge,  in  which  he  has  been 
richly  blessed.  His  son  had  been  taken  out  of  college  to  earn 
the  family's  living,  but  on  receipt  of  the  pension,  went  back, 
is  now  preparing  for  the  ministry,  and  preached  his  first 
sermon  on  the  Sunday  of  the  Atlanta  International  Conven- 
tion. 


COMPARATIVE  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT 

Receipts 

Sources                            1911          1912  1913  1914 

Churches $7,500       $8,982  $13,1-11  $15,528 

Individuals 2,394         4,055  2,648  2,455 

Bequests    3,219         6,112  6,312  300 

Annuities    1,600         1,100  2,700  5,800 

Conventions    768              10  1,039  3,367 

Miscellaneous   35                4  784  2,750 

Total   $15,516     $20,263  $26,624  $30,200 

The   20   Per   cent   Pro- 
position             4,053  5,325  6,000 

Interest  and  Rent 1,800          1,666  2,011  3,486 

Total   $17,316     $25,982  $33,960  $39,686 

Pensions 

Names  on  Roll 71           75             85  111  26 

Amount   Paid... $8,816     $9,540     $13,760  $19,356  $5,590 

William  R.  Warren. 
Indianapolis,  Ind. 


218  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

THE  TOUCH  OF  A  VANISHED  HAND 
John  Troland 

We  sigh  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand — 

The  hand  of  a  friend  most  dear, 
Who  has  passed  from  our  side  to  the  shadowy  land: 

But  what  of  the  hand  that  is  near? 

To  the  living  touch  is  the  soul  inert 

That  weeps  o'er  the  silent  urn? 
For  the  love  that  lives  in  our  hand  alert 

To  make  some  sweet  return? 

As  the  days  go  by,  are  our  hands  more  swift 

For  a  trifle  beyond  their  share 
Than  to  grasp — for  a  kindly,  helpful  lift — 

The  burdens  someone  must  bear? 

We  sigh  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand, 

And  we  think  ourselves  sincere; 
But  tohat  of  the  friends  that  about  us  stand, 

And  the  touch  of  a  hand  thaVs  here? 


THE  VETERAN'S  HAND 

After  fifty  years  in  the  Baptist  ministry  the  Eev.  B.  T. 
Welch,  in  a  half -playful,  half-rapturons  manner,  would  hold 
up  his  thin,  trembling,  palsied  hand  and  say  to  it : 

"Old  Hand,  what  ails  you?  Cannot  you  be  still  for  a 
moment?  Seventy  and  six  years  have  left  their  marks  on 
you.  But  bless  the  King  in  Zion  this  day  for  all  the  service 
you  have  been  able  to  render  Him.  How  often  have  you 
handled  the  sacred  pages  of  His  Word !  What  use  you  have 
been  in  preaching  His  gospel !  How  often  you  have  baptized 
loving  disciples !  How  many  you  have  received  into  fellow- 
ship into  His  Church !  For  how  many  you  have  broken  the 
emblem  of  His  broken  body !  Poor  old  hand !  I  rememl^er 
when  you  were  fair  and  young  and  strong. 

"Never  mind  the  past.  Thanks  to  my  loving  Lord,  it  will 
not  be  long  before  you  will  put  your  fingers  into  the  print  of 
the  nails  in  His  hand;  not  long  before  you  will  lay  a  crown 
at  His  feet;  not  long  before  He  will  stretch  out  His  own 
hand,  mighty  to  save,  and  grasp  you  and  greet  you,  and  His 
touch  will  heal  your  palsy  and  send  immortality  thrilling 
through  your  every  vein  and  fiber.  Be  of  good  cheer,  old 
Hand !  You  shall  soon  touch  more  than  the  hem  of  His  robe, 
His  robe,  and  are  healed  forever  V^ 


THE  CHURCH'S 
PROGRAM 

REFOEMED  (DUTCH)  CHURCH 
IN  AMERICA 

THE  REV.  DENIS  WORTMAN,  D.D. 

Secretary  Ministerial  Relief,  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church 
in  America 


The  Reformed  Church  has  two  methods  of  Ministerial 
Relief,  the  Disabled  Ministers'  Fund  and  the  AVidows'  Fund. 
They  are  alike  in  this,  that  ministers,  their  widows  and 
orphans  may  receive  this  greatly  needed  benefit;  they  both 
have  a  partial  endowment,  the  churches  are  supposed  to  make 
an  annual  offering  for  both  funds;  both  deserve  and  require 
larger  endowment  and  larger  annual  sustaimnent.  They  differ 
only  in  methods  and  measures  of  help;  the  former  being 
a  blessed  beneficence,  the  latter  a  happily  combined  beneficence 
and  insurance. 

The  Disabled  Ministers'  Fund^  started  in  1854  and  re- 
constructed in  1863,  is  for  relief  of  Disabled  Ministers,  and 
their  widows  and  orphans  in  honorable  need.  Assistance 
is  unfortunately  limited,  on  account  of  lack  of  funds,  to  $200 
a  year;  and  may  be  given  only  as  recommended  by  Classis, 
and  year  by  year.  We  seek  larger  annual  offerings  and 
worthier  endowment,  so  we  be  not  limited  to  such  miserly 
amounts.  The  annual  offering  has  now  increased  from  $3,900 
to  $8,535;  which  must  be  increased  to  $10,000,  and  be 
kept  there,  at  the  least.  The  Fund  has  an  endowment  of 
$101,000,  which  we  must  increase  to  $250,000  at  least,  for 
which  we  ask  and  entreat  large  gifts  and  legacies  from  the 
rich.  Eighteen  ministers  and  thirty-six  widows  are  now  en- 
joying this  relief.  Meanwhile  the  number  of  annuitants 
increases  from  year  to  year,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  with 
increase  of  prices  of  living  and  the  earlier  retirement  of 
Ministers. 

The  Widows'  Fund  is  a  combined  beneficence  and  insur- 
ance, and  I  think  a  unique  and  inviting  one.  If  the  minister 
begins  insurance  at  thirty-five  years  of  age  or  under,  his 

219 


220  THE  EETII^ED  MINISTER 

premium  is  $20  a  year  for  life;  if  he  begins  between  thirty- 
five  and  forty-five,  it  is  $30  a  year;  if  between  forty-five  and 
fifty-five,  it  is  $40;  if  between  fifty-five  and  sixty,  it  is  $45. 
After  sixty  it  is  too  late.  The  annuity  to  the  widow  of  the 
insurer  is  $200  during  her  lifetime;  and  at  her  death  her 
children,  under  sixteen,  receive  a  percentage.  If  there  is 
not  sufficient  money  for  the  $200,  the  annuity  is  proportionate 
to  money  in  the  treasury.  This  year  it  is  $185.  The  minister 
himself  may  receive  this  aid,  when  recommended  by  Classis, 
upon  two  physicians'  certificates  that  he  is  permanently  in- 
capacitated for  ministerial  service. 

The  present  endowment  of  this  Fund  is  only  $114,000,  and 
tlie  General  Synod  urgently  calls  for  its  increase  to  at  least 
$250,000.  This  last  church-year  ministers  gave  toward  their 
own  insurance  $2,200,  and  two  thirds  of  our  churches  (the 
others  not  strong  ones,  but  largely  missionary)  gave  $5,550; 
which  latter  figure  ought  to  be  $10,000.  The  present  annu- 
ities of  $185  should  be  $300,  if  we  would  be  in  line  with 
kindred  denominations.  There  are  now  on  this  fund  twenty- 
one  ministers  and  fifty-seven  widows.  Some  others  should 
be  receiving  this  relief  who  are  deterred  from  asking  because 
of  the  stringency  of  our  funds.  The  increasing  expenses  of  liv- 
ing, the  fateful  shortening  of  ministers'  terms  of  service,  the 
deplorable  extent  to  which  churches  and  ministers  are  in 
jeopardy  of  a  shortening  service,  imperil  the  prosperity  of 
the  churches  as  well  as  the  prolongation  of  gracious  pas- 
torates and  discourage  strong  and  energetic  young  men  from 
perilous  pastorates,  short  and  precarious.  These  considera- 
tions summon  men  and  women  of  wealth  to  the  handsome 
endowment  of  these  precious  funds. 

For  all  Thy  reverend  servants,  Lord, 

Who  long  have  served  and  bravely  borne, 

Who  well  have  taught  and  wrought  Thy  word, 
Whose  virtues  still  Thy  Church  adorn, 

We  bless  Thee,  and  implore  Thy  grace 

Till,  past  dark  death,  they  see  Thy  face. 

Surcease  be  theirs  from  fears  and  tears 

While   through   these   earthly   wilds   they   roam, 

And  grateful  thoughts  of  well-spent  years 
While  gazing  toward  their  nearing  home; 

And  ours  the  children's  heritage 

Of  sweetening  their  declining  age. 


GERMAX  BAPTISTS  221 

We  thank  Thee  for  their  lives  sincere 

That  warned  and  wooed  awaj^  from  sin, 
For  words  of  wisdom  and  of  cheer 

That  helped  us  worthier  wealths  to  win; 
Lord,  may  we  save  from  care  and  loss 
The  saints  that  led  us  to  the  Cross! 

May  we  who  follow  in  their  train 

Their  virtues  view  and  deeds  outdo, 
And  like  them  strive  the  world  to  gain 

For  Him  who  to  its  rescue  flew; 
Him  and  them  may  we  join,  among 
Thine  aged  made  forever  young! 

Denis  AYortman. 
East  Orange,  N.  J. 


GERMAN  BAPTISTS  OF  AMERICA 

For  many  years  the  German  Baptist  Conferences  have 
come  to  the  aid  of  their  aged  and  infirm  ministers  as  their 
condition  required.  The  General  Missionary  Committee  he- 
gan  in  a  humble  way  aiding  a  few  until  to-day  the  appro- 
priations amount  to  $2,475  annually.  Thanksgiving  Day  or 
jS'ew  Year's  Eve  offerings  have  been  devoted  to  this  cause, 
and  in  churches  which  have  introduced  the  duplex  envelope 
a  certain  percentage  is  designated  to  this  purpose.  Sixteen 
ministers  receive  an  annual  allo^vance  of  from  $50  to  $250. 
Last  year  $3,556  were  disbursed  for  relief  to  ministers  and 
their  families. 

Several  years  ago  a  legacy  of  $2,000  was  left,  the  interest 
of  which  was  to  be  used  for  ministerial  relief  to  be  knowm 
as  the  "Martha  E.  Miller  Fund.''  Mrs.  Miller  had  been  a 
minister's  wife;  her  husband  had  been  compelled  to  leave 
the  ministry  on  account  of  ill-health.  He  prospered  in  busi- 
ness and  devoted  much  money  to  God's  kingdom  and  remem- 
bered his  brethren  during  his  lifetime  and  gave  this  legacy 
through  his  wife.  The  German  Baptist  Publication  Society 
voted  $500  of  its  profits  in  1910  and  the  same  amount  in  1911 
for  ministers'  pension  or  ministerial  relief.  This  was  to  inspire 
people  to  create  a  permanent  fund. 

At  the  General  Conference  in  1910  a  committee  of  repre- 
sentative men  was  appointed  to  devise  plans  for  a  more  thor- 
ough and  extensive  Ministerial  Relief  Fund,  to  report  at  the 
next  General  Conference, 


222  THE  ]?ETIin^]I)  MTNISTKR 

The  ministers  themselves  have  for  many  years  sustained  a 
Society  known  as  "The  Mutual  Aid  Society  of  German  Bap- 
tist Ministers  of  North  America."  It  was  incorporated  with- 
out capital  and  strives  to  enlist  all  the  younger  ministers. 
It  has  a  membership  of  137  at  present.  The  average  assess- 
ment is  $10  per  year,  and  the  benefit  in  case  of  death  is  $250, 
if  the  minister  should  die  within  five  years  of  his  member- 
ship, and  $500  after  that  term.  This  Society  has  aided 
thirty-one  ministers'  widows  or  their  families  during  the  past 
fifteen  years. 


THE  NEW  ZEALAND  SUPEEANNUATION  EUND 

Each  minister  pays  an  annual  subscription  of  $41,  and  the 
circuits  pay  for  each  minister  $56  yearly.  The  annuities 
range  from  $150  per  annum  to  ministers  superannuated 
after  five  years'  service,  to  $700  to  those  who  have  labored 
forty-four  years.  The  secretary  recently  said,  "The  next 
General  Conference  ought  to  be  able  to  declare  an  appreciable 
increase  to  the  annuities.  The  capital  now  stands  at  $3,225,- 
000,  and  52  per  cent  of  the  annual  income  is  being  added  to 
the  accumulated  capital." 


WESLEYAN  SUPERANNUATES 

The  report  of  our  Wesleyan  brethren  on  the  Worn- Out 
Ministers'  Fund  has  just  been  made,  showing  a  healthy  con- 
dition. There  are  nearly  nine  hundred  ministers  and  minis- 
ters^ widows  having  claims  on  the  fund,  and  the  leaders  of 
the  Church  hope  that  the  increased  donations  are  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  claims  of  the  fund  and  likely  to  continue.  The 
average  term  of  service  in  the  Wesleyan  ministry  is  thirty- 
eight  years,  and  the  average  grant  for  supernumeraries  is 
$5  per  week,  and  for  widows  in  the  neighborhood  of  $3. 

The  Methodist  Recorder,  commenting  upon  this,  delivers 
itself  in  words  that  could  apply  with  equal  propriety  to 
American  Methodism.     It  says: 

"Let  our  readers  consider  what  it  means — that  after  near 
forty  years'  service  in  our  ministry  there  is  a  pension  of  one 
pound  a  week !  We  are  all  hearing  of  the  increased  cost  of 
living,  but  we  have  heard  of  very  few  ministers'  stipends 


JEWISH  EABBIS  223 

tliat  have  increased.  Tliere  are  thousands  of  generous  people 
in  Methodism  who  are  sometimes  distressed  because  it  is 
difficult  to  find  cases  in  which  they  can  be  sure  their  gifts 
will  be  rightly  applied.  We  would  suggest  to  them  this  fund. 
^Charity'  is  not  the  word.  The  brethren  are  of  our  own 
household,  and  cannot  be  disregarded  because  they  are  old. 
We  know  a  kind-hearted  master  by  his  affection  for  his  old 
servants,  a  loyal-hearted  man  by  his  love  for  his  old  teacher; 
may  we  not  know  a  Christian  Church  by  its  care  for  its  old 
ministers  ?" 


JEWISH  EABBIS 

In  Jewish  reformed  congregations,  the  highest  salary  is 
$18,000  per  annum,  the  next  $15,000,  there  being  quite  a 
few  at  $10,000  and  $12,000,  while  salaries  of  $5,000  and 
upward  are  common.  The  leading  Jewish  congregations  in 
Cincinnati  pay  their  ministers  $7,000  and  $10,000  respec- 
tively, and  in  addition  these  gentlemen  receive  fees  amount- 
ing to  several  hundred  dollars  more.  But  even  at  these 
figures  there  are  not  enough  graduates  from  the  American 
Jewish  theological  schools  to  properly  supply  the  increasing 
demand,  and  the  average  salary  tends  to  become  larger. 

"Eeacling  such  figures,  some  financially-hard-pressed  min- 
isters might  be  just  a  little  tempted  to  say,  ^  "Almost  thou 
persuadest  me  to  be" — a  Jew  V  That  even  with  such  salaries 
there  are  not  enough  young  rabbis  for  the  demand  would 
indicate  that  among  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  the  financial 
consideration  is  not  the  foremost  element  in  the  call  to 
preach." — Western  Christian  A dvocate. 


SUPERANNUATE  HOMES 

The  North  Alabama  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  has  an  agent  for  Suj)erannuate  Homes, 
and  has  provided  for  thirty-two  families  since  the  movement 
was  inaugurated.  The  Homes  are  proving  a  great  blessing 
to  the  claimants,  and  a  blessing  to  the  communities. 

There  are  thirty  Homes  valued  at  $G7,000. 

The  California  Conference  has  twenty  Conference  Claim- 
ants' Homes  all  occupied. 


224  THE  l^ETTRED  MINISTER 

THE   METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

The  following  general  statement  is  of  interest: 
The  full  account  of  the  methods  and  institutions  employed 
by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  securing  the  money 
needed  to  pay  in  full  the  inherent,  foremost  and  supreme 
claim  of  its  Retired  Ministers  will  be  found  in  Part  TIL 
The  following  general  statement  indicates  progress: 

THE  GIST  OF  LP 

I.  $4,000,000  raised  for  distribution  from  1908  to  1913. 

II.  $2,500,000  added  to  Investments  since  1908. 

III.  $1^500,000  additional  increase  distributed  to  Claimants 
during  the  last  five  years  as  compared  with  any  previous  five 
years. 

.   IV.  $500,000  increase  in  annual  distribution  in   1914  as 
compared  with  1908. 

V.  Number  of  Claimants  in  1913  was  6,589:  3,181  min- 
isters, 3,123  widows,  285  orphans. 

VI.  879  Claimants  received  less  than  $50  each. 
1,171  Received  from  $51  to  $100. 

1,200 

1,171 

411 

127 

13 

(Children  not  included.) 

VII.  Average  salary,  $720;  average  Disciplinary  rate, 
$10.25. 

VIII.  Average  Annuity  rate  paid,  $5.25;  51%  of  the  full 
Disciplinary  rate. 

IX.  MONEY  NEEDED  Each  Year  to  Pay  All  Claims, 
$1,600,000. 

X.  For  the  twenty  years  prior  to  1907  direct  contributions 
from  pastoral  charges  increased  at  the  rate  of  $9,600  a  year. 
Since  1908  the  increase  has  been  $30,000  a  year. 

Let  us  devoutly  say,  ''What  hath  God  ivroiight!" 
XL  The  total  revenue  for  distribution  in  1913  represents  a 
five  per  cent  income  on  $22,000,000.  To  meet  its  obligations 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  needs  an  annual  revenue 
equal  to  five  per  cent  of  $32,000,000.  Hence  the  need  of  the 
1915  CAMPAIGN  for  $10,000,000  additional  Endowment. 


101 

to 

200. 

201 

to 

300. 

301 

to 

400. 

401 

to 

500. 

501 

to 

600. 

THE   CHURCH'S 
PROGRAM 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH 

THE  REV.  J.  B.  HINGELEY,  D.D. 

Corresponding  Secretary 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants 


The  movement  for  providing  for  Disabled  Preachers  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  dates  back  to  Revolutionary  days 
when  the  inquiry  was  made  at  the  Conference  of  the  little 
band  of  Wesleyans  as  to  what  could  be  done  for  the  preachers 
who  were  worn  out  in  the  service.  At  that  time  all  the  Meth- 
odists in  America  could  have  been  accommodated  in  any 
church  in  Washington. 

In  those  early  days,  the  Methodist  organization  was  com- 
munistic. Each  preacher  received  the  same  salary  and  the 
provision  for  the  care  of  the  superannuated  preacher  was  the 
same  as  that  for  the  men  in  the  active  ranks.  The  oldest  insti- 
tution of  organized  Methodism  is  the  "Chartered  Fund/' 
which  still  exists  and  contributes  $3,600  a  year  to  the  sup- 
port of  Claimants,  even  though  the  contributors  to  the 
original  Fund  have  been  dead  a  century  or  more. 

From  the  very  beginning  the  chief  source  of  income  for  the 
Retired  Preacher  has  been  the  contributions  from  the 
churches,  which  to-day  amounts  to  half  a  million  dollars. 

The  Book  Concern  makes  the  Retired  Preachers  benefici- 
aries of  its  income,  the  amount  paid  for  the  care  of  the  aged 
ministers,  widows,  and  orphans,  now  being  $300,000  per  year. 

Most  Annual  Conferences  have  Permanent  Funds,  varying 
from  $10,000  to  $300,000.  The  income  of  this  money  is 
applied  to  the  relief  of  Claimants.  In  1908  the  Church  pro- 
vided a  connectional,  or  general  board,  known  as  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants,  to  care  for  the  general  interests  of 
the  Retired  Ministers,  and  to  create  funds  for  the  special 
care  of  those  who  are  in  the  poorer  sections  of  the  country. 
Since  the  organization  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants, 

225 


226  THE  EETIRED  MINISTEE 

there  has  been  an  annual  increase  of  the  distribution  through- 
out the  Church  of  $500,000.  This  legislation  marks  an  era  of 
advance  along  this  line.  In  1912  the  General  Conference 
asked  for  an  additional  five  million  dollars  for  investments. 
The  campaign  to  secure  this  money  is  known  as  the  "1915 
CAMPAIGN.^^  Each  Conference  is  projecting  a  campaign 
for  enough  funds  to  meet  its  own  obligations,  and  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants  is  seeking  additions  to  its  funds. 

In  April,  1914,  the  Bishops  appointed  a  special  Committee, 
consisting  of  Bishops  McDowell,  Berry,  and  Quayle,  to  prepare 
an  Address  and  Appeal  to  the  Church  in  behalf  of  a  $5,()()0,- 
000  Fund,  the  appeal  to  be  presented  at  a  special  meeting  to 
be  held  in  Washington  during  their  fall  meeting.  On  Thurs- 
day night,  October  29,  1914,  this 

ADDRESS  AND  APPEAL  TO  THE  CHUECH 

was  delivered  in  the  presence  of  representatives  of  thirty 
Conferences,  and  a  large  gathering  of  local  Methodists.  The 
Inauguration  Meeting  was  fittingly  held  in  the  Metropolitan 
Church  at  the  capital  of  the  Nation. 

The  program  for  the  Convention  was  prepared  with  great 
care,  all  the  men  upon  the  program  being  familiar  with  the 
special  topics  to  be  presented.  On  Tuesday  afternoon  and 
Wednesday  morning  there  was  a  review  of  the  present  provi- 
sions made  for  the  care  of  Eetired  Ministers.  On  Wednesday 
afternoon,  plans  for  the  intensive  and  cooperative  Campaign 
w^re  discussed.  On  Thursday,  Dr.  McClure,  of  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church,  Dr.  Foulkes,  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  Dr.  Stewart,  of  the  Methodist  ICpiscopal  Church, 
South,  Dr.  Loomis,  of  the  Congregational  Church,  Dr.  Sweets, 
of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  and  Dr.  Matteson,  of 
the  Baptist  Church,  told  what  was  being  done  in  these  great 
Churches  to  provide  suitably  for  the  Eetired  Preachers. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Eenner,  Secretary  of  the  Pension  Department 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Eailroad,  presented  an  instructive  address 
as  to  what  is  being  done  by  that  great  railroad  to  provide  for 
aged  employees.  There  were  also  special  addresses  on  the 
Pensions  by  Corporations,  Wills,  Life  Annuity  Bonds,  and 
other  topics  of  vital  interest  to  the  cause. 

"The  Veterans  of  the  Cross  Fellowship,^^  is  an  organization 
of  the  Eetired  Preachers,  for  the  purpose  of  cultivating  fel- 


THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUECH      227 

lowship  and  bringing  them  into  closer  touch  with  the  Church's 
work.  Dr.  Varnam  A.  Cooper,  the  President  of  the  National 
organization,  as  well  as  a  great  many  of  its  members,  are 
Veteran  Soldiers,  and  naturally  enough,  the  language  of  the 
campaign  and  the  camp  is  the  language  of  this  delightful 
Fellowship.  There  is  no  lack  of  nmnbers  sufficient  for  such 
an  organization.  ^Ye  are  accustomed  to  large  numbers  in  con- 
nection with  all  things  Methodistic,  but  are  perhaps  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  alone, 
there  are  3,181  retired  preachers;  3,123  widows  of  preachers, 
and  500  dependent  orj)hans,  making  a  total  of  almost  7,000 
Claimants,  whose  claim  to  a  comfortable  support  is  recognized. 
Since  the  claim  of  each  widow  is  one  half  that  of  a  Eetired 
Minister  of  the  same  length  of  service;  and  the  claim  of  tlie 
dependent  orphan  child  is  one  fifth  of  what  his  father's  claim 
would  be ;  it  follows  that  the  full  claims  of  these  7,000  Claim- 
ants in  the  different  classifications  are  equal  to  the  full  claims 
of  5,000  Eetired  Ministers.  Such  a  statement  of  the  case 
may  add  clearness  of  understanding  to  friends  of  aged 
ministers  who  are  not  familiar  with  Methodist  terminology. 

THE  CLAIM 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  recognizes  a  twofold 
obligation  toward  the  Eetired  Minister. 

First,  an  Annuity,  or  Pension,  based  upon  the  length  of 
service.  The  amount  of  this  Annuity  varies  in  different  Con- 
ferences, in  proportion  as  the  average  salaries  vary.  The 
standard  is  the  same  relatively  in  all  Conferences,  namely, 
that  the  Eetired  Minister  who  has  fulfilled  thirty-five  years  of 
service  is  entitled  to  an  amount  equal  to  one  half  of  the 
average  salary  of  the  active  men  in  his  Conference.  The 
average  salary  varies  greatly  throughout  the  Church,  but 
the  ratio  for  the  support  of  the  Eetired  Preacher  is  the  same, 
namely,  that  he  shall  have  half  as  much  as  the  average  pastor. 
For  example,  in  the  Baltimore  Conference,  the  average  salary 
is  $1,050;  the  half  salary,  $525.  The  Eetired  Minister  who 
has  fulfilled  thirty-five  years  of  service  in  that  Conference 
is  entitled  to  a  pension  of  $525,  and  if  he  has  served  a  longer 
or  shorter  time  than  thirty-five  years,  he  would  be  entitled 
to  such  proportional  share  of  the  amount. 


228  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

Second:  An  additional  amount,  when  necessary,  is  provided 
to  relieve  needy  cases.  The  annuity  or  pension  would  make 
reasonable  provision  for  a  minister  of  long  service,  but 
only  an  inadequate  provision  for  one  of  short  service.  Hence 
in  addition  to  the  money  to  be  distributed  on  the  basis  of 
service  as  annuities  or  pensions,  the  Church  provides  money 
which  may  be  added  to  the  amount  of  the  annuity  or  pension. 

THE  BOAED  OF  COXFERENCE  CLAIMANTS 

The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  was  constituted  in 
order  to  provide  this  additional  amount,  but  until  funds  in 
the  hands  of  the  Board  are  sufficient  to  do  so,  Conferences 
may  apply  part  of  their  revenues  to  help  needy  cases.  Be- 
cause of  the  necessity  of  so  providing  for  necessitous  cases 
the  Baltimore  Conference,  whose  legal  annuity  is  $15  a  year, 
pays  but  $10  a  year.  The  1915  CAMPAIGN  is  for  the  pur- 
pose of  so  increasing  the  revenues  of  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  that  its  funds  may  be  sufficient  to  provide  what- 
ever additional  help  may  be  needed  throughout  the  Church; 
and  also  to  increase  the  invested  funds  of  Annual  Conferences 
to  an  amount  sufficient  to  enal)le  them  to  meet  their  annuity 
obligations. 

All  departments  of  the  Church  are  interested  in  this  1915 
CAMPAIGN.  The  Bishops  have  written  earnestly  in  behalf 
of  it.  Letters  from  the  entire  Official  Family  of  Methodism, 
urging  the  fulfillment  of  the  Church's  obligation  toward  the 
Retired  Preachers  are  printed  in  this  volume.  Bishop  Old- 
ham has  just  written  a  most  attractive  booklet  entitled,  "We'll 
Do  It,"  taking  for  his  text  the  statement  of  Dr.  V.  A.  Cooper, 
of  the  New  England  Conference,  who  when  speaking  of  the 
vows  taken  by  the  ministers,  and  the  promise  of  the  laymen 
of  a  comfortable  support,  said  of  the  laymen,  ''They  took  us 
for  life,  let  them  see  us  through  I" 

The  work  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  is  world- 
wide. It  receives  money  from  every  continent  on  the  globe 
and  extends  help  to  Retired  Methodist  Preachers  in  China, 
India,  South  America,  Africa,  and  to  the  warring  nations  of 
Europe;  and  when  the  carnage  shall  cease  the  Board  will 
be  the  organized  hand  of  the  Church  to  relieve  the  distress  of 
the  aged  ministers,  the  widows  and  orphans  of  Europe's 
stricken  Methodism. 


THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH      229 

LITERATUEE 

The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  has  an  extensive 
Literature,  and  publishes  a  Magazine,  The  Veteran 
Preacher,   which   is   filled  with   items   concerning   his   care. 

The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  has  secured  some  fine 
music  for  the  Cause.  Dr.  AY.  J.  Kirkpatrick  wrote  the  music 
for  "Veterans  of  the  Cross" ;  Thoro  Harris,  of  Chicago,  wrote 
music  for  Mrs.  Smith's  poem,  "Remember  the  Faithful."  Dr. 
Hingeley  has  a  song  entitled,  "The  Veteran's  Camp  Fire," 
sung  to  the  tune,  "Tenting  To-night."  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  jMartin, 
authors  of  the  familiar  song,  "God  Will  Take  Care  of  You," 
wrote  for  the  Board  the  words  and  music  of  "Scatter  the 
Flowers  Now";  and  Fanny  Crosby,  at  the  request  of  Dr. 
Hingeley,  wrote  the  beautiful  poem  entitled,  "Love's  Recom- 
pense."    (See  Index  and  Table  of  Contents.) 

EPISCOPAL  AREAS 

The  last  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  assigned  the  Bishops  to  the  supervision  of  Annual 
Conferences  in  definite  areas  during  the  quadrennium,  believ- 
ing that  there  will  be  a  stronger  sense  of  responsibility  and  a 
stronger  administration  by  this  method. 

Bishop  Burt  has  already  organized  the  Buffalo  Area  in  the 
interests  of  Conference  Claimants.  Each  of  the  six  Confer- 
ences in  his  area  has  a  separate  organization  to  help  raise 
the  amount  of  money  needed,  and,  beside  that,  these  six  Con- 
ferences have  formed  an  organization  for  mutual  assistance. 
Since  the  problem  in  this  area  will  be  to  raise  more  than  a 
million  and  a  half  dollars,  such  an  organization  can  be  made 
very  effective. 

Chicago,  111.  Joseph  B.  Hingeley. 


SOME  BEGINNINGS 

In  1763  a  Fund  for  worn-out  preachers  was  inaugurated 
by  Mr.  AYesley. 

In  1774  the  second  American  Conference  ordered  an 
Easter  collection  for  needy  itinerants. 


230  THE  EETTI^ED  MINISTER 

In  1784  a  Preachers'  Eund  was  instituted,  to  be  kept  up 
largely  by  a  ministerial  tax.  This  was  afterwards  merged 
into  the  C'liartered  Eund. 

l}i  1789  the  Di^ciplinnnj  plan  of  raising  a  Fund  for  the 
Superannuated  Preacliers,  and  tlie  Widows  and  Orplians  of 
Preachers  was  as  folloivs: 

Ques.  1.  How  can  we  provide  for  Superannuated  Preachers, 
and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  Preachers  ? 

Answ.  1.  Let  every  Preacher  contribute  two  dollars  yearly 
at  the  Conference. 

2.  Let  every  one  when  first  admitted  as  a  Traveling 
Preacher,  pay  twenty  shillings,  Pennsylvania  currency. 

3.  Let  the  money  l)e  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  Presiding 
Elder,  or  lent  to  the  College ;  and  an  account  thereof  kept  by 
the  Deacon. 

N.  B.  The  application  of  the  money  shall  rest  with  the 
Conference. 

4.  Out  of  this  fund,  let  provision  be  made,  first,  for  the 
worn-out  Preachers,  and  then  for  the  widows  and  children 
of  those  that  are  dead. 

5.  Every  worn-out  Preacher  shall  receive,  if  he  wants  it, 
not  usually  more  than  twenty-four  pounds  annually,  Penn- 
sylvania currency. 

G.  Every  widow  of  a  Preacher  shall  receive  yearly,  if  she 
wants  it,  during  her  widowhood,  twenty  pounds, 

7.  Every  child  of  a  Preacher  shall  receive  once  for  all,  if 
he  wants  it,  twenty  pounds. 

8.  But  none  shall  be  entitled  to  any  thing  from  this  fund, 
till  he  has  paid  fifty  shillings. 

9.  Nor  any  one  who  neglects  paying  his  subscription  for 
three  years  together,  imless  he  be  sent  by  the  Conference  out 
of  the  United  States. 

10.  Let  every  assistant,  as  far  as  possible,  bring  to  the  Con- 
ference the  contribution  of  every  Preacher  left  behind  in  his 
circuit. 

In  1908  the  Church  began  to  do  business  for  the  super- 
annuates along  tried  and  successful  lines  by  establishing  the 
general  or  connectional  Board  of  Conference  Claimants. 


PART  II.    THE  CLAIM  FOREMOST 

CHAPTER  II.  THE  PROGRAM  OF  BUSINESS 

PAGE 

A  Unique  Pay  Roll.     Leslie's 232 

1.  The  Pennsylvania  Lines Renner 233 

2.  Railroad  Pension  Systems — Table Foulkes 238 

3.  The  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad 239 

4.  Industrial  Pension  Systems Foulkes 240 

Aged  and  Disabled  Printers 240 

5.  What  Corporations  are  Doing Pew 241 

6.  The  First  National  Bank,  Chicago 244 

Carnegie  Foundation 246 

7.  Teachers'  Retirement,  New  York  City.     Hartwell 247 

8.  Teachers'  Pension  Funds — Table Foulkes 249 

"The  Pension    Habit."     Mail 250 

Transmuting  the  Truth   Into   Gold. 
Leslie's 250 

9.  Old-Age,    Mothers'     and     Government 

Pensions .4  pplegate 251 

Illinois  Mothers'  Pensions 256 

Ohio  Mothers'  Pensions 256 

Old-Age  Pensions 256 

10.  Two  Workmen:  Likeness  and  Contrast 258 

States  having  Mothers'  Pensions ....  259 

United  States  Pensions 260 

Holland's  Old-Age  Pensions 260 


A  UNIQUE  PAY  EOLL 

With  2,040  active  employees  who  have  been  in  service 
forty  years  or  longer,  and  with  1,572  men  who  served  forty 
years  or  more  and  are  now  receiving  pensions,  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Eailroad  has  a  unique  pay  roll,  with  489  men  who  have 
been  in  its  service  more  than  fifty  years.  The  employees 
in  the  service  fifty  years  or  longer  are  as  follows : 


1  employee  66  yrs., 
3  employees  64  yrs., 
5  employees  62  yrs., 
3  employees  61  yrs., 
8  employees  60  yrs., 


7  employees  59  yrs.,  42  employees  54  yrs. 
23  employees  58  yrs.,  39  employees  53  yrs. 
20  employees  57  yrs.,  53  employees  52  yrs. 
27  employees  56  yrs.,  93  employees  51  yrs. 
41  employees  55  yrs.,  124  employees  50  yrs. 


Pennsylvania  employees  are  blessed  with  longevity,  for  it 
has  in  active  service,  4,717  employees  who  are  between  the 
ages  of  60  and  70.  The  Carlisle  tables  of  mortality  show  the 
expectancy  of  a  man  21  years  of  age  to  be  40.75  years;  but 
the  Pennsylvania  Eailroad  has  4,015  employees  who  exceed 
this.  The  following  figures  show  the  emplo3^ees  between  60 
and  70  years: 

No.  of 
Age  Employees 

60  702 

61  607 

62  637 

63  570 

64  540 


No.  of 

Age 

Fmployees 

65 

455 

66 

347 

67 

325 

68 

318 

69 

216 

There  were  living  in  1912  eight  Penns^dvania  Eailroad  em- 
ployees who  are  over  ninety  years  of  age,  all  of  them  receiv- 
ing regular  pension  payments  from  the  company. 


WHAT  RAILROADS 
ARE  DOING 

PENNSYLVANIA  LINES 

MR.  JOHN  W.  RENNER 

Secretary  Pension  Department,  Pennsylvania  Lines 


The  request  for  information  as  to  the  pension  system  in 
effect  on  the  Pennsylvania  System  Lines  contained  two  spe- 
cific inquiries:  first,  as  to  pensions  for  those  retired  from 
service  on  account  of  age  or  incapacity;  and,  second,  as  to 
provision  for  the  maintenance  of  dependents  of  deceased 
employees. 

The  analogy  between  the  railway  service  and  chiirch  work 
may  be  considered  as  fairly  close  in  the.  case  of  those  in  either 
line  of  w^ork  remaining  in  active  service  until  reaching  a 
pensionable  age;  for  employees  in  either  service  have  as  a 
rule  given  all,  or  a  large  proportion  of  their  working  years  to 
the  service.  But  there  is  no  such  analogy  in  the  matter  of 
providing  for  dependents  of  the  deceased.  In  railway  work, 
only  theemployee  himself  performs  any  service  for  his  em- 
ployer, and  it  is  therefore  but  fair  that  the  employee  should 
bear  the  expense  of  insurance  for  his  family,  at  least  so  far 
as  death  from  natural  causes  is  concerned.  In  church  work, 
the  pastor's  family  is  usually  as  actively  engaged  as  is  the 
paid  minister,  and  it  would  seem  entirely  proper  that  the 
employer,  the  Church,  should  make  provision  for  their  main- 
tenance in  case  of  the  death  of  the  head  of  the  family. 

In  its  arrangements  for  pension  and  relief  payments,  the 
practice  of  the  Pennsylvania  System  has  been  very  largely 
followed  by  other  railroads,  and  while  the  details  of  the  appli- 
cation of  the  principles  involved  have  varied  more  or  less  on 
the  several  roads,  to  suit  the  conditions  there  existing,  the 
basis  adopted  on  the  Pennsylvania  System  may  be  taken  as 
fairly  typical  of  what  the  railroads  are  doing. 

Many   other   industries,   pu])lic   service   utilities,    corpora- 

233 


234  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

tions,  banks,  etc.,  have  pension  and  relief  plans  suited  to  their 
own  conditions  and  needs. 

First,  the  PENSION  PLAN  of  the  Penns^dvania  System 
Lines. 

All  employees  who  attain  the  age  of  seventy  years,  and  those 
who  may  be  incapacitated  upon  or  after  attaining  the  age 
of  sixty-five  years,  are  retired  from  active  service,  and  paid 
a  monthly  pension  allowance.  This  pension  payment  is 
based  on  the  plan  of  allowing  annually  for  each  year  of 
service,  one  per  cent  of  the  average  wages  received  during  the 
ten  years  last  preceding  retirement.  Thus,  a  man  who  en- 
tered the  service  at  twenty  years  of  age,  and  was  retired  at 
seventy,  would  receive  50  per  cent  of  his  average  pay  for  the 
ten  year  period  immediately  preceding  his  retirement. 

For  the  calendar  year  1913,  the  Pennsylvania  System  Lines 
paid  out  in  pensions  under  this  plan  a  total  of  $1,165,996.33, 
and  had  on  the  pension  roll  at  the  close  of  the  year  2,816  ex- 
employees  who  were  seventy  years  of  age  or  older,  and  1,129, 
between  the  ages  of  sixty-five  and  seventy — a  total  of  3,975 
pensioners.  The  average  pension  paid  during  that  year, 
therefore,  was  $294  a  year,  or  $24.50  a  month.  Inasmuch, 
however,  as  the  length  of  service  was  in  some  cases  as  low  as 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  years,  ranging  from  that  to  55  years, 
and  as  some  employees  had  earned  comparatively  little  wages 
in  the  ten  years  next  preceding  retirement,  it  is  apparent 
that  the  average  payment  to  those  with  a  full  term  of  service 
is  very  much  above  $294. 

Since  the  inauguration  of  the  plan^  January  1,  1900,  to 
September  1,  1914,  there  has  been  paid  in  pension  allowances 
a  total  of  $10,342,092.99,  to  a  total  of  8,293  retired  employees. 
Of  these  4,060  have  died  during  this  period,  leaving  on  the 
pension  roll  on  September  1,  1914,  4,233  retired  employees. 

This  pension  list  is  customarily  referred  to  as  the  "Roll  of 
Honor,"  and  each  month  a  bulletin  is  published  giving  the 
names,  occupation  and  length  of  service  of  all  who  were 
retired  in  that  month,  with  a  biographical  sketch  of  those 
with  a  service  of  fifty  years  or  more. 

Second,  the  RELIEF  DEPARTMENT  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania System  Lines,  that  is,  the  provision  made  for  financial 
assistance  to  families  of  deceased  employees,  and  to  emj)loyees 
incapacitated  through  sickness  or  injury. 


PENNSYLVANIA  LINES  235 

This  department  was  inaugurated  on  the  Eastern  lines  in 
1886  and  on  the  Western  lines  in  1889.    Prior  to  that  tnne, 
when  an  employee  died,  or  was  seriously  incapacitated   a  sub- 
scription paper  was  circulated  among  his  fellow  employees, 
and  each  su))scribed  what  he  felt  like  giving,  the  company 
frequently  supplementing  this  hy  making  a  further  contribu- 
tion, particularly  in  cases  where  the  disahility  or  death  re- 
sulted from  injury  received  in  the  service,     lo  replace  this 
uncertain   and  unsatisfactory  plan,  the  company   organized 
and  has  since  maintained,  a  "Voluntary  Reliet  Department, 
into  which  those  employees  who  desire  to  become  members 
pay  monthly  a  contribution  based  on  the  benefits  which  they 
elect  to  receive  for  disability  or  death,  the  company  contribut- 
in^>-  the  entire  cost  of  operation,  including  the  salaries  ot  the 
staff  of  medical  and  supervising  officers,  and  making  up  any 
deficits  that  may  arise  through  the  operation  ot  the  tuncl, 
which  is  operated  and  disbursed  jointly  by  a  committee  or 
board  consisting  of  representatives,  respectively,  of  the  com- 
pany and  the  employee  members,  each  having  equal  represen- 
tation on  the  committee  of  management.  ^    ^  ,       . 

The  maximum  class  of  membership  which  may  be  taken  by 
any  employee  is  governed  by  his  monthly  rate  of  pay,  and  the 
class  of  membersliip  taken  by  each  determines  the  rate  ot 
benefit  payments  to  be  made  on  account  of  the  disability  or 
death  of  the  member.  The  following  table  exhibits  the 
amounts   of   the   contributions   and  benefits   of    the   several 

c^^^^^^'-  1st  2d  3d  4th  5th 

Class       Class        Class        Class        Class 

ovGr 

""tr'trc^l':"'     $40.00     ?60.00     ?S0.00     $100.00     $100.00 

ni\"4outh."™  .75         1.50         2.50  3.00  3.75 

Disablement  benefits, 

Fi?s[vear  -50         1.00         1.50  2.00  2.50 

Tfter  first  •year:;..  .25  .50  .75  1.00  1.25 

""Tdrath." ''''."'"$250.00  $500.00  $750.00  $1,000.00  $1,250,00 

In  addition,  any  nicml)er  in  insurabie  health  may  obtain 
addmonal  deatli  benefit.,  in  multiples  of  $250  unt,l  he  tota 
death  benefit  is  double  the  normal  death  benefit  as  shown  m 


23G  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

the  above  tal)le,  the  additional  contribution  to  be  made  on  this 
account  being  graded  according  to  the  class  taken  and  the 
age  of  the  member  at  the  date  the  additional  death  benefit  is 
secured.  Thus  the  maximum  death  benefit  that  can  be  taken 
by  an  employee  whose  compensation  is  over  $100  per  month 
is  $2,500,  the  contribution  for  which,  up  to  forty-five  years 
of  age,  is  $5.25  a  month  for  death  benefit  and  accident  and 
health  insurance. 

Employees  have  very  generally  availed  themselves  of  mem- 
bership in  this  provident  feature  of  the  service,  especially  in 
those  branches  of  the  service  wdiere  the  employment  is  prac- 
tically permanent  or  the  risk  of  health  or  accident  greatest. 
On  June  30th  of  this  year,  81.1  per  cent  of  the  employees  of 
the  lines  west  of  Pittsburgh  were  members  of  the  Relief  De- 
partment. On  the  system  lines,  east  and  west  of  Pittsburgh, 
there  are  now  about  155,000  employees  with  membership  in 
the  Relief  Department. 

During  the  year  1913,  the  contributions  of  members  to  this 
fund  totaled  $2,881,307.29,  and  this  large  sum  was  supple- 
mented by  contributions  of  the  companies  aggregating  $408,- 
895.82,  which,  with  $143,008.55  interest  on  surplus  funds, 
made  the  total  receipts  for  the  year  $3,433,211.66.  Out  of 
this  fund  benefits  were  paid  as  follows : 

Death  benefits  to  beneficiaries  of  deceased  em- 
ployees          $855,331 .  91 

Disablement  benefits  to  members 1,818,601 .  78 

Superannuation  benefits  to  retired  employees  in 
addition  to  pension,  on  lines  east  of  Pittsburgh 
only  98,153.19 


Total  benefits  paid  to   members  and  their  benefi- 
ciaries         $2,772,086 .  88 

Operating  expenses  paid  by  the  companies 408,895.82 

There  being  no  operating  cost  to  the  insured,  and  no 
profits  to  be  paid  to  the  insurer,  and  as  the  accumulation  of 
a  large  reserve  is  not  necessary  (the  companies,  as  stated 
above,  making  up  any  deficit),  it  is  apparent  that  the  rates  of 
contribution  to  this  fund  bring  greater  returns  in  disablement 
and  death  benefits  to  the  company's  employees  than  could  be 
obtained  in  any  other  way  from  a  like  expenditure. 

Reverting  again  to  the  pension  plan,  a  few  of  the  rules 


PENNSYLVANIA  LINES  237 

adopted  by  railroads  generally  in  the  administration  of  these 
funds  should  be  mentioned.  To  prevent  the  payment  of 
pensions  to  men  of  very  short  service,  it  is  necessary  to 
establish  an  age  beyond  which  no  new  employees  will  be  taken 
into  the  service,  or  a  minimum  length  of  service  after  which 
a  pension  will  be  paid,  and  some  roads  have  both  require- 
ments. On  the  Pennsylvania  System,  the  maximum  age 
for  taking  new  emplo3^ees  into  the  service  has  been  fixed  at 
45  years.  All  employees  reaching  the  age  of  70  years  are 
retired  regardless  of  their  length  of  service,  and  pensioned. 
Those  incapacitated  between  the  ages  of  65  and  70  are  pen- 
sioned only  after  30  years'  service,  it  being  understood  that 
most  of  the  employees  are  members  of  the  Eelief  Fund,  their 
disability  benefits  carrying  them  to  pension  age  if  incapa- 
citated. Some  roads  have  fixed  tl;e  maximum  age  for  enter- 
ing the  service  as  low  as  35  years,  some  as  high  as  50,  but  the 
majority  of  them  have  adopted  45  years.  The  number  of 
years'  service  after  which  a  pension  is  paid  for  age  or  inca- 
pacity varies  on  the  different  roads  from  10  years  to  30  years. 
One  road  has  made  it  optional  with  its  employees  to  retire 
at  the  age  of  60,  and  a  few  others  at  65,  whether  they  be  in- 
capacitated or  not,  if  they  have  been  in  the  service  a  specified 
number  of  years. 

The  suggestion  is  often  heard  that  after  a  certain  number 
of  years  of  service,  say  thirty-five  or  forty,  an  employee  should 
be  given  a  pension  if  he  desires  to  retire  from  active  service. 
This  is  frequently  done  in  European  countries,  where  the 
pension  funds  are  provided  by  joint  contributions  of  the  men 
and  their  employers,  but  so  far  the  rule  has  not  been  adopted 
by  any  railroad  in  this  country,  where  the  pension  funds  are 
provided  entirely  by  the  employer. 

It  has  been  the  aim  in  this  paper  to  give  such  information 
concerning  the  retirement  and  relief  plans  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania System  as  might  be  of  assistance  in  planning  similar 
features  in  the  work  of  the  Church.  The  great  mass  of  detail 
involved  in  the  formulation  of  equitable  rules  of  administra- 
tion can  well  be  omitted  from  consideration  until  the  general 
principles  have  been  determined,  and,  accordingly,  only  these 
general  principles  have  been  here  considered.  If  further  study 
of  the  subject  leads  you  to  desire  information  as  to  the  work- 
ing rules  and  regulations  of  these  departments  of  railway  serv- 


238 


THE  EETIllED  MINISTEE 


ice,  it  will  be  gladly  furnished  in  such  detail  as  may  be  prac- 
ticable. 

In  closing  I  quote  from  an  address  made  some  time  ago  on 
the  subject  of  Pensions,  before  a  convention  of  the  Kailroad 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  by  Mr.  John  Hurst,  a 
member  of  my  official  staff,  as  follows: 

"Throughout  all  the  centuries  men  have  dreamed  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Man.  In  a  competitive  and  commercial  age 
like  this,  when  the  struggle  in  every  line  of  endeavor  grows 
more  intense  from  year  to  year,  the  ideal  of  a  human  brother- 
hood such  as  Christ  lived  and  preached,  and  such  as  Tenny- 
son sings  of  in  his  ^Locksley  Hall',  seems  very  far  away.  But 
step  by  step,  slow,  toilsome  steps  at  times  it  is  true,  we  are 
advancing  in  the  direction  of  a  wider  recognition  of  the  rights 
of  man.  One  step  is  the  pension  scheme,  wdiich  has  in 
it  this  supremely  Christ-like  feature :  it  takes  care  of  a  man 
when  he  is  too  old  or  infirm  to  take  care  of  himself." 

John  W.  Renner. 

Pennsylvania  Station,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


RAILROAD  PENSION  SYSTEMS 
CouKTKSY  OP  Dr.  W.  H.  Foulkes 

COMPANY 

Pension 

Fund 

Established 

Age  of  Retirement 

Years  of 

Service 

Required 

Average 
Yearly 

Voluntary 

Compulsory 

Pension 

B.  &0 

1884 
1900 
1900 
1902 
1902 
1903 
1903 
1907 
1910 
1910 

65 
65 
65 
65 
60 
65 
65 

70 
70 
70 
70 
70 
70 
70 

70 
70 

10 
20 
30 
30 
25 
20 
20 
15 
20 
10 

$235.00 

C.  &N.  W 

Penna 

Phila.  &  R 

251.00 
241.00 
362  00 

D.,  L.  &  W 

275 . 00 

So.Pac 

3i4.o6 

Santa  Fe 

255.00 

Omaha 

N.  Y.Cent 

312! 66 

The  pension  is  generally  figured  as  1%  of  the  average  monthly  wages  for  the  last  10  years  for  each 
year  of  service.  Illustration:  If  the  average  wages  were  $100,  and  the  service  30  years,  the  pension 
would  be  $30  a  month. 

Eighteen  other  railroads  have  pension  systems,  all  of  them  non-contributory,  that  is,  the  company 
pays  all. 

The  latest — the  Boston  &  Maine — is  contributory,  half  and  half;  the  men  pay  half  and  the  com- 
pany pays  half. 

Nearly  all  of  the  railroads  have  benefit  associations,  to  which  employees  contribute;  most  of  them 
have  a  relief  department  also. 


NORTHWESTERN  LINES  239 


CHICAGO  &  NORTHWESTERN  RAILWAY  COMPANY 

Employees  who  have  attained  the  age  of  seventy  years,  and 
who  have  been  twenty  years  in  the  service  shall  be  retired 
and  pensioned,  except  executive  officers  appointed  by  the 
Board  of  Directors.  Employees  who  have  been  twenty  or 
more  3^ears  in  the  service,  and  who  have  become  permanently 
disabled,  may  be  retired  and  pensioned  at  any  time.  Length 
of  service  is  computed  from  the  date  of  entry  into  the  service 
to  the  date  of  retirement,  and  the  forcible  retirement  of  em- 
ployees becomes  effective  on  the  first  day  of  the  calendar 
month  following  their  seventieth  birthday. 

The  monthly  pension  allowance  is  determined  on  the  fol- 
lowing basis:  For  each  year  of  service,  one  per  cent  of  the 
average  regular  monthly  pay  for  the  ten  years  next  preceding 
retirement ;  provided,  that  the  minimum  amount  shall  be  $12 
per  month.  The  annual  pension  disbursement  cannot  exceed 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  should  it  do  so,  a  rate 
is  established  proportionately  reducing  all  allowances. 

An  example :  If  the  average  monthly  pay  for  the  last  ten 
(10)  years  of  a  man's  service  with  the  company  has  been  sixty 
dollars  per  month,  one  per  cent  of  the  monthly  pay  would  be 
sixty  (60)  cents;  and  if  he  has  served  the  company  twenty 
(20)  years  his  pension  would  be  twenty  (20)  times  sixty  (60) 
cents,  or  twelve  dollars  per  month,  and  each  additional  year 
of  service  would  add  one  ( 1 )  per  cent  of  his  monthly  pay. 

Length  of  service  alone  does  not  constitute  the  basis  for 
a  pension.  Age  and  length  of  service  are  combined.  The 
candidate  for  a  pension  not  only  must  have  served  the  com- 
pany at  least  twenty  (20)  years,  but  he  must  have  arrived  at 
a  pensionable  age.  Pension  allowances  are  paid  monthly, 
until  the  death  of  the  beneficiary;  provided,  however,  that 
the  company  may  withhold  its  stipend  in  case  of  gross  mis- 
conduct. The  acceptance  of  a  pension  does  not  debar  any 
retired  employee  from  engaging  in  any  other  business  which 
is  not  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  company,  but  he 
cannot  reenter  its  service.  The  pension  system  confers  no 
legal  claim  to  a  pension  allowance. 

A  Pension  P)oard,  composed  of  five  officers  of  the  company, 
appointed  by  the  Board  of  Directors,  serves  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  President. 


240 


THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 


INDUSTRIAL  PENSION  SYSTEMS 

Courtesy  of  Dr.  W.  H.  Foxn-KEs 


COMPANY 


^^ 
a. 22 
.23 


111 

If 

ll 

IS 

60  (?) 

60(?) 

20 

60 

70 

25 

7 

65 

70 

10 
20 

55 

20 

60 

65 

20 

60 

70 

20 

50-55 

55-60 

30-20 

wo 


American  Express 1 1875 

Wells  Fargo  Co 

Procter  &  Gamble.  .  . 


Pitt  Coal  Co 

International  Harvester  Co. 


Morris  &  Co . 


Armour  &  Co . 
U.S.  Steel..., 


American  Telegraph  &  Tele- 
phone Co 


1904 


1907 
1908 


1909 

1911 
1911 


1  hour's  wages 
every  4  weeks — 
3%   per  month 


3%  of  wages 
3%  of 


One  half  average  pay  for 

last   10  years;  maxi- 

mmn,  S500 
1%  average  pay  last  10 

years  for  each  year  of 

service 
75?^o  average  pay  last  2 

years 

SIO  per  month 
^  average  pay  last  10 
years  for  each  year  of 
service.      Minimum, 
118;    maximum,    $100 
per  month 

2%  of  last  salary  for  each 
year  of  service.  Maxi- 
mum, $5,000 

2%  of  last  salary  for  each 
year  of  service 
'c  average  pay  last  10 
years  for  each  year's 
service.      Minimum, 
$12;  maximum,  SlOO 

1%  average  pay  last  10 
years  for  each  year's 
service.     Minimum, 
$20 


AGED  AND  DISABLED  PRINTERS 

The  International  TyiDographical  Union  has  60,000  mem- 
l)or8,  composed  of  printers,  mailers,  newspaper  writers,  etc. 

It  maintains  in  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.,  the  Union  Print- 
ers' Home  and  Tuberculosis  Sanatorium,  where  it  cares  for 
aged  and  disabled  members,  and  especially  provides  for  the 
treatment  of  those  members  who  are  afflicted  with  tuberculosis. 

It  pays  to  those  who  have  reached  the  age  of  sixty  years 
and  have  been  members  for  twenty  years  or  more,  and  who 
are  unable  to  earn  a  living  at  the  trade,  a  pension  of  $5 
])eT  week,  $260  per  year.     It  also  pays  burial  benefits. 

It  maintains  a  school  for  the  technical  instruction  of  ap- 
prentices and  printers,  Avhich  can  l)e  taken  advantage  of  with- 
out interference  with  the  remilar  w^ork  and  at  a  small  cost. 


WHAT  CORPORA- 
TIONS ARE  DOING 

MR.  JOHN  O.  PEW 

President   and  General  Manager 
Youngstown  Iron  and  Steel  Company 


The  ^^pension  habit"  is  growing.  Governments  are  pen- 
sioning their  veterans  and  corporations  are  rewarding  their 
employees  for  long  and  faithful  services.  Soldiers  and 
sailors  retire  on  three-quarters  pay.  Nearly  everybody,  it 
would  seem,  lives  and  works  in  the  blessed  hope  of  a  "com- 
fortable support"  upon  retirement  from  active  work;  and 
while  humanitarian  reasons  may  have  much  force  in  bring- 
ing about  pensions  for  aged  and  faithful  workers,  it  ought 
to  be  said  that  there  are  other  important  reasons  which  are 
inducing  corporations  to  take  care  of  their  employees  in  old 
age.  The  slogan  of  this  materialistic  age  is  "Eificiency" — 
how  to  get  the  greatest  amount  of  work  out  of  a  plant  or 
a  worker  with  the  greatest  amount  of  profit.  There  are 
"efficiency  experts"  whose  sole  business  it  is  to  show  cor- 
porations how  greater  efficiency  can  be  secured  by  new 
systems  of  management,  new  machinery,  the  standardization 
of  supplies,  the  decrease  of  motions  in  the  performance  of  a 
given  task.  Even  the  bishops  are  holding  efficiency  conven- 
tions in  their  Episcopal  Areas  in  order  to  get  better  results 
out  of  the  efforts  of  preachers  and  laymen — to  make  them 
more  "efficient"  for  the  profit  of  the  Church  and  the  kingdom. 

Corporations  are  finding  out  that  when  faithful  servants 
can  look  forward  to  a  pension  in  old  age,  they  are  more  con- 
tented in  their  work,  have  a  more  personal  interest  in  the 
business,  and  prefer  to  stay  on  their  job  and  give  their  best 
to  the  work  to  which  they  have  been  assigned.  They  become 
more  "efficient."  One  great  reason  why  corporations  are 
giving  old  age  pensions  is  because  employees  become  more 
efficient,  their  earning  power  becomes  greater,  and  the  money 
invested  in  pensions  brings  splendid  returns. 

241 


242  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

American  Telephone  Company 

The  subsidiary  companies  of  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  are  pensioning  their  175,000  employees, 
about  130,000  of  whom  are  in  the  employ  of  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company.  Tlie  total  yearly  pay  of  the  whole  group 
is  about  $115,000,000,  about  $80,000,000  being  paid  out 
by  the  Bell  Company  alone.  A  fund  of  $10,000,000  has  been 
provided,  made  available  on  January  1,  1913,  for  pensions, 
sick  benefits  and  life  and  accident  insurance.  This  fund 
will  be  made  good  from  year  to  year  through  appropriations 
by  the  various  subsidiary  companies.  Employees  will  not  he 
called  upon  to  contribute  one  cent.  The  pension  plan  with 
the  insurance  and  disability  plan  provides  for  a  pension  of 
one  per  cent  per  annum  of  the  annual  average  pay  during 
the  ten  years  next  preceding  retirement,  multiplied  by  the 
number  of  years  of  service.  For  instance,  a  man  with  thirty 
years  of  service  behind  him  would  receive  a  pension  equal 
to  thirty  per  cent  of  the  average  amount  earned  by  him  dur- 
ing the  ten  years  preceding  his  application  for  the  benefit. 
Disability  during  the  performance  of  duty  will  be  met  with 
full  pay  for  thirteen  weeks ;  and  half  pay  until  the  employee 
is  able  to  earn  a  livelihood,  the  time  not  to  exceed  six  years, 
Disability  not  in  the  performance  of  duty  will  be  met  with 
a  graduated  compensation,  depending  upon  length  of  service. 
Employees  having  relatives  depending  upon  them  will  be 
entitled  to  insurance  against  death  by  accident,  occurring  in 
and  due  to  the  performance  of  work  for  the  companies,  in 
the  sum  of  three  years'  wages  not  to  exceed  a  total  amount 
of  $5,000.  All  employees  having  relatives  dependent  upon 
them,  and  who  have  been  five  years  in  the  service,  will  be 
entitled  to  an  insurance  against  death  in  a  sum  equal  to  six 
months'  wages,  when  the  term  of  employment  has  been  from 
five  to  ten  years.  When  the  term  of  employment  has  been 
ten  years  or  more,  the  insurance  paid  will  be  one  year's  wages, 
the  maximum  paid  being  $2,000.  With  these  plans  to  take 
care  of  their  employees  in  their  old  age,  these  companies 
show  a  determination  to  reward  faithful  service  and  at  the 
same  time  secure  greater  "efficiency." 

ApxMOur  &  Company 
Armour  &  Co.,  the  great  ])acking  house,  has  established  a 


CORPORATION  PENSIONS  243 

pension  fund  for  the  benefit  of  its  15^000  employees  througli- 
oiit  the  United  States.  Ogden  Armour,  the  head  of  the  com- 
pany, ga\e  a  million  dollars  to  this  pension  fund.  The  fund 
is  created  for  the  benefit  of  salaried  employees  who  have 
reached  the  age  of  from  fifty  to  sixty-five  and  who  have  been 
employed  twenty  years  or  more  in  the  service  of  the  company. 
EmjDloyees  must  pay  into  the  fund  three  ]3er  cent  of  their 
salaries  annually.  Employees  on  retirement  receive  two  per 
cent  of  the  salary  paid  them  at  the  time  of  their  retirement 
for  each  year  of  service — that  is,  an  employee  having  served 
twenty-five  years  will  receive  during  every  year  of  his  retire- 
ment fifty  per  cent  of  the  salary  received  by  him  when 
retired.  Such  employee  receiving  a  salary  of  $2,000  at 
retirement  will  receive  after  retirement  a  pension  of  $1,000 
per  year.  Women  employees  are  eligible  to  the  pension  fund ; 
but  a  clause  provides  that  upon  marriage  they  are  to  receive 
back  all  the  moneys  they  have  paid  in.  All  employees  who 
leave  the  service  will  receive  back  the  amounts  paid  in.  Pen- 
sioned employees  may  engage  in  other  business  or  accept 
other  employment  so  long  as  it  is  not  of  the  same  character 
as  that  conducted  by  Armour  &  Co. 

United  States  Steel  Corporation 

For  a  number  of  years  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation 
has  been  pensioning  its  employees.  The  first  year  of  opera- 
tion of  the  pension  plan  showed  1,606  beneficiaries.  $13,000,- 
000  has  been  set  aside  for  the  pension  fund.  During  the 
first  year,  the  average  age  of  those  pensioned  was  sixty-six; 
the  average  years  of  service  were  forty;  and  the  average 
monthly  pension  $20.75. 

What  need  I  say  more  of  the  pension  funds  of  great  cor- 
porations !  Time  would  fail  me  to  tell  what  the  Chicago 
Tribune,  The  First  National  Bank  of  Chicago,  The  Inter- 
national Typographical  Union,  The  Old  Merchants  Relief 
Fund  of  Philadelphia,  The  First  National  Bank  of  New 
York,  the  Carnegie  Foundation  and  other  institutions  are 
doing  for  their  pensioners.  All  recognize  not  only  the  pen- 
sioners' need  of  a  pension  but  their  need  of  an  efficient 
worker.  While  the  outlay  is  great  they  are  more  than  com- 
pensated by  increased  faithfulness  and  the  fine  feeling  of 
fraternity  which  is  produced  by  the  pension  system. 


2U  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

What  corporations  are  doing,  the  Church  must  do,  not  as 
charity  l)iit  as  an  investment  for  "efficiency/'  But  the 
Church  should  be  moved  by  a.still  greater  motive.  An  irresist- 
ible law,  the  higher  law  of  the  eiernalhj  just,  compels  the 
Church  to  take  care  of  its  veteran  workers  in  their  old  age. 

John  0.  Pew. 

Youngstown,  Ohio. 

THE  FIRST  NATIONAL  BAXK,  CHICAGO 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Chicago  was  a  pioneer  in 
pensions.     The  Bank  Pension  Fund  was  established  in  1899. 

The  fund  is  known  as  "The  Bank  Pension  Fund."  It  was 
optional  with  officers  and  clerks  whether  they  should  enter 
the  fund  at  its  inception,  but  all  subsequent  employees  are 
required  to  enter  the  fund,  if  eighteen  years  of  age  or  over, 
and  to  pass  a  medical  examination  prior  to  such  entry. 

The  officers  and  employees  contribute  to  the  fund  three  per 
cent  of  their  salaries,  payable  monthly  and  deducted  from 
the  monthly  pay.  No  clerk  is  allowed  to  marry  on  a  salary  of 
less  than  $1,000  per  year,  without  the  consent  of  the  bank, 
under  penalty  of  dismissal  and  forfeiture  of  his  rights  to 
the  fund.  In  case  of  voluntary  resignation  or  dismissal  all 
payments  into  the  funds  are  returned  without  interest.  As  a 
general  rule  no  pension  is  granted  unless  the  officer  or  em- 
ployee shall  have  completed  not  less  than  fifteen  years  of 
service  and  attained  the  age  of  sixty  years.  If  an  officer  or 
employee  shall  die  prior  to  fifteen  years'  service  and  no  pen- 
sion is  granted,  the  amount  contributed  is  returned  to  his  legal 
representative  with  interest  at  four  per  cent.  On  attaining 
the  age  of  sixty  years  and  having  fifteen  years'  service  a 
member  may  retire  on  a  pension,  or  may  be  required  to  retire ; 
on  attaining  sixty-five  years  he  shall  retire,  unless  specially 
requested  to  remain.  An  officer  or  employee  who  before  at- 
taining the  age  of  sixty  years  shall  be  incapacitated  for  work 
by  ill-health  or  affliction  shall  be  permitted  to  retire  and  take 
the  benefits  provided.  Officers  and  employees  whose  term  of 
service  shall  have  been  under  twenty-five  years  shall  not  be 
entitled  to  a  pension  for  a  longer  time  than  their  term  of 
service;  if  such  service  has  reached  twenty-five  years  or  more 
they  shall  be  entitled  to  such  pension  for  life. 


BANK  PENSIONS  245 

The  amount  of  pension  allowed  officers  or  employees  shall 
be  on  the  basis  of  one  fiftieth  of  their  salary  at  date  of  retire- 
ment for  each  year  of  service;  thus  if  they  have  fifteen  years 
of  service  to  their  credit,  they  will  receive  fifteen-fiftieths  of 
their  salary,  if  twenty-five  years,  twenty-five  fiftieths,  or  one 
half.  The  maximum  pension  is  subject  to  the  following 
limitations:  In  no  case  shall  it  exceed  thirty-five  fiftieths 
of  their  salary.  On  a  salary  not  exceeding  $10,000,  it  shall 
not  exceed  $4,000.  On  a  salary  not  exceeding  $15,000,  it 
shall  not  exceed  $5,000.  On  a  salary  exceeding  $15,000,  it 
shall  not  exceed  $6,000.  If  a  clerk  enter  the  service  of  the 
bank  prior  to  eighteen  years  of  age  his  term  of  service  shall 
commence  at  the  date  of  his  first  payment  to  the  fund  at 
eighteen  years  of  age.  The  widow  of  a  deceased  officer  or 
employee  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  half  the  amount  to  which 
her  husband  would  have  been  entitled;  but  she  shall  not 
receive  a  pension  for  a  longer  period  than  her  husband's  term 
of  service.  The  pension  shall  cease  if  she  remarries.  At  her 
death,  if  she  leaves  any  children  her  pension  shall  be  paid  to 
them  or  to  trustees  for  them  until  the  youngest  child  shall 
reach  the  age  of  eighteen  years;  each  child's  interest  to  cease 
as  he  or  she  reaches  that  age  or  marries  prior  to  that  age. 

The  funds  are  invested  by  the  bank's  officers.  The  policy 
of  the  bank  has  been  to  build  up  a  strong  fund.  A  contribu- 
tion of  $25,000  was  made  at  the  beginning  and  subsequent 
contributions  have  averaged  about  six  per  cent  of  the  salary 
total.  The  interest  earnings  have  so  far  met  all  pension  re- 
quirements and  left  a  surplus  of  profit  to  the  fund.  There 
are  no  expenses  for  administration.  The  membership  of  the 
fund  and  ])ensioners  have  Ijeen  as  follows : 


Members 

Pensioners 

Members 

Pensioners 

1899 

243 

0 

1907 

524 

15 

1900 

307 

4 

1908 

541 

18 

1901 

335 

8 

1909 

548 

17 

1902 

417 

10 

1910 

558 

22 

1903 

430 

10 

1911 

581 

24 

1904 

447 

10 

1912 

607 

27 

1905 
1906 

474 
500 

13 
13 

1913 

646 

30 

If  an  officer  or  emplo3^ee  shall  be  in  receipt  of  a  pension  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  the  period   for  wliicli  he  shall  have 


246  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

received  a  pension  shall  be  deducted  from  the  period  during 
which  a  pension  sliall  ])e  paid  to  his  widow.  The  children 
of  a  deceased  ollicer  or  employee  whose  wife  died  before  him 
shall  receive  one  half  of  the  pension  to  which  he  would  have 
been  entitled,  to  be  divided  among  them. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the  value. of  the  Bank  Pen- 
sion Fund  to  the  employee.  The  sense  of  security  which  it 
affords,  taking  the  place  of  worry  for  the  future,  for  the 
employee's  old  age  and  for  the  family  which  survives  him, 
should  he  be  taken  away  or  incapacitated,  is  fully  appreciated. 
The  mental  strain  is  thus  relieved,  and  greater  energy  and 
efficiency  is  encouraged.  The  older  men  are  more  loth  to 
leave  and  accept  other  positions,  and  are  generally  better 
satisfied.  Employees  are  permitted  to  purchase  stock  of  The 
Eirst  National  Bank  and  have  it  carried  for  them  by  the  fund, 
by  paying  $10  per  share  down  and  $5  per  share  per  month. 

These  pension  features  and  the  provisions  for  the  comfort, 
amusement  and  welfare  of  employees  develop  a  spirit  of 
fidelity  and  fraternity  which  brings  results  in  efficiency  and 
loyalty  to  the  bank. 

CARNEGIE  FOUNDATION  FOR  TEACHERS 

The  Carnegie  Foundation  for  the  Advancement  of  Teach- 
ing has  an  endowment  of  $15,000,000  to  provide  retiring 
allowances  for  teachers  and  officers  of  higher  educational  insti- 
tutions, and  distributed  $3,936,927  during  the  first  eight 
years. 

The  1913  report  showed  that  $579,440  was  distributed  to 
professors  and  $80,949  to  their  widows;  a  total  of  $660,389. 

The  number  of  new  allowances  was  thirty-three,  making 
the  total  allowances  now  in  force  403.  The  average  annual 
payment  to  pensioners  was  $1,703. 

COLLEGE  PENSIONS— THE  CARNEGIE  FUND 
Courtesy  of  Dr.  W.  H.  Foulkes 
Includes  seventy-two  colleges  and  universities. 
Retirement  Age:  65. 

Service  Required:  15  years  as  professor,  or  25  years  as  instructor  and  professor. 
Incapacity:  After  25  years  as  professor,  or  30  years  as  instructor  and  professor. 
Pension:  One  half  average  salary  last  five  years,  plus  $400.    Widow  receive  one  half   of   what 
■would  be  her  husband's  allowance. 

Average  Retirement  Pension  for  1912:  $1,678.60. 

Average  Widows'  Pension  for  1912:  $912.11. 

Average  Age  of  Retirement:  69,  70,  71  in  different  yeara. 


RETIREMENT  OF 
TEACHERS 

IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 

DR.  CHARLES  S.  HART  WELL,  M.A. 

Eastern  District  High  School 


The  Board  of  lietirement  for  teachers  in  New  York  City 
was  first  organized  July  10,  1905.  It  consists  of  the  President 
of  the  Board  of  Education,  the  chairmen  of  the  Committee  on 
Elementary  Schools  and  on  High  Schools,  the  City  Superin- 
tendent and  three  members  selected  from  the  principals  and 
teachers  of  the  public  day  schools.  The  teacher  members  are 
elected  for  three  years  by  representatives  of  the  teachers 
elected  by  each  district  in  the  city. 

The  Retirement  law  set  aside  eight  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  ($800,000)  standing  to  the  credit  of  the  teachers' 
fund  on  December  31,  1904,  as  a  permanent  fund,  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  should  not  be  encroached  upon.  To  this  is 
added  annually  "five  per  cent  of  all  excise  moneys  or  license 
fees  belonging  to  the  City  of  New  York  and  derived  or 
received  by  any  commissioner  of  excise  or  public  officer  from 
the  granting  of  licenses  or  permission  to  sell  strong  or  spirit- 
uous liquors,  ale,  wine  or  beer  in  the  city  of  New  York,  under 
the  provisions  of  any  law  of  this  state  authorizing  the  grant- 
ing of  such  license  or  permission." 

To  the  amount  of  thirty  dollars  in  one  year,  for  teachers 
and  principals,  and  forty  dollars,  for  supervising  officials,  the 
law  authorizes  the  deduction  of  one  per  cent  from  the  salaries 
of  all  from  the  city  superintendent  to  the  new  teacher  enter- 
ing the  system.     This  is  added  to  the  Retirement  Fund. 

All  money  deducted  from  salaries  of  teachers  because  of 
unexcused  absences  also  becomes  a  part  of  this  fund.  Dona- 
tions, legacies  and  bequests  are  placed  in  the  fund. 

On  recommendation  of  the  Board  of  Retirement  the  Board 
of  Education  has  power  to  retire  at  the  beginning  of  eacli 
semester,  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  all  its  members,  any  member 
of  the  teaching  #-r  supervising  staff,  who  may  apply  for  retire- 

247 


248  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

ment,  provided  he  or  she  has  been  engaged  in  teaching  or  in 
school  or  college  supervision  for  a  period  aggregating  thirty 
years,  fifteen  of  which  shall  have  been  in  some  of  the  institu- 
tions of  New  York  City.  The  Board  of  Education  may  retire 
any  member  of  the  teaching  or  supervising  staff  who  has 
reached  the  age  of  sixty-five  years. 

The  amount  to  be  paid  upon  such  retirement,  whether 
voluntary  or  otherwise,  shall  be  not  less  than  one  half  the 
annual  salary  paid  to  such  person  at  the  time  of  retirement; 
but,  except  in  the  case  of  professors  of  the  Normal  College, 
shall  not  exceed,  in  the  case  of  a  teacher  or  principal,  the  sum 
of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  and  in  the  case  of  a 
supervising  official,  two  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  In  no 
case  shall  the  amount  be  less  than  six  hundred  dolbrs  per 
annum.  Any  person  retired  after  twenty  years  of  service,  but 
with  less  than  thirty  years  of  service  shall  receive  an  annuity 
which  bears  the  same  ratio  to  the  annuity  provided  for  on 
retirement  after  thirty  years  of  service  as  the  total  number  of 
years  of  service  of  said  person  bears  to  thirty  years.  These 
annuities,  like  salaries,  are  paid  in  monthly  instalments. 

The  number  of  persons  retired  is  limited  in  any  one  year, 
so  that  the  entire  amount  of  the  annuities  to  be  paid  for  that 
year  shall  not  be  in  excess  of  the  amount  of  the  retirement 
fund  applicable  to  the  payment  of  annuities  for  that  jesiY. 

Retired  persons  are  eligible  to  reappointment  in  the  schools. 

Principal  Lyman  A.  Best  of  Brooklyn,  .N.  Y.,  who  has 
been  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Retirement  since  its  organ- 
ization in  1905,  has  issued  a  series  of  annual  reports  of  the 
greatest  value.  For  ten  years  previous  to  that  time  there  had 
been  a  teachers'  pension  fund. 

Between  1895  and  1913  there  have  been  1927  retirements, 
an  average  of  107  per  year;  of  whom  1,401:  were  on  the  rolls 
on  July  31,  1913.  The  number  of  teachers  in  New  York 
City  at  the  same  time  was  19,681. 

The  total  income  of  the  Retirement  fund  from  1894  to 
1913  was  $12,911,703,  and  the  balance  on  hand  on  December 
31,  1913,  was  $1,095,255. 

An  effort  is  being  made  to  secure  a  unification  of  retirement 
regulations  for  the  various  l)ranches  of  tlie  city  service  and 
important  changes  in  existing  laws  are  imminent. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Charles  S.  Hartwell. 


INDUSTEIAL  PENSIONS 


249 


1894- 
1895- 


1907- 


1909- 
1910- 
1911- 
1913- 


TEACHERS'  PENSION  FUNDS 

Courtesy  op  Dr.  W.  H.  Foulkes 

STATES  WHICH  AUTHORIZE  TEACHERS'  PENSIONS 
-New  York. 

Michigan. 

■ ^New  Jersey,  Ohio. 

— — — — Illinois,  Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  Utah. 

-^ Massachusetts. 

Minnesota,  Nebraska,  Colorado,  Wisconsin. 

^^^2^^^|^^~~~~~  ^ —Virginia,  Louisiana. 

~  ■ Connecticut,  Kansas,  Oregon. 

~       ~ Iowa. 


In  seven  States  all  teachers  are  included:  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Virginia,  Iowa,  Rhode  Island, 
Maryland,  Wisconsin.  In  two  cases  all  the  funds  are  provided  by  the  State:  Maryland.  Rhode 
island.     All  the  others  are  contributory— the  teachers  pay  part. 


CITY 

Fund 
Estab- 
lished 

Years 

of 
Service 

Re- 
quired 

Age 
Retire- 
ment 

Teachers' 

Contribution 

Per  Year 

Yearly  Pension 

New  York 

Chicago 

San  Francisco 

Cincinnati 

New  Orleans 

Sacramento 

Memphis 

Indianapolis 

Omaha 

Minneapolis 

1894 

1895 
1897 
1897 
1902 
1905 
1907 
1907 

1909 
1909 

30 

25 
30 
30 
15 
20 
30 
25 

40 
20 

65 

60 
60 

1%  of  salary— not  over 

$5  to  $30 
$12 

$20 
1%  of  salary 
2%  of  salary 
1%  of  salary 
1%  or  2%  of  salary- 
not  over  $20 
1%  of  salary 
$5  to  $25 

Half  pay-$600  to 

$1,500 

$400 

$300  or  more 

$300 

Half  pay 

Half  pay 

About  $300 

$15  for  each  year  of 

service — not  over  $600 

$500 
$16.67  for  each  year  of 
service— not  over  $500 

The  average  years  of  service  are  thirty. 

The  pension  varies  from  $200  to  $2,000,  or  one  half  of  the  average  salary  during  the  last  five  years. 
CITIES  WHICH  HAVE  TEACHERS'  PENSION  FUNDS 

1894 New  York,  Washington. 

1895 Brooklyn,  Chicago,  Detroit. 

1896 Buffalo. 

1897^ Albany,  Cincinnati,  Providence,  San  Francisco,  Syracuse. 

1898 Charleston. 

1899— Saint  Louis. 

1900 — ■ — Boston,  New  Orleans. 

1905 — Rochester. 

1906 — Troy,  Cleveland. 

1907  -    ■ — Philadelphia,  Schenectady,  Ehnira,  In- 

dianapoHs,  Memphis. 

1908 — — Harrisburg,  Springfield,  0.,  Yon- 

kers.  Salt  Lake  City. 

1..0J  — Columbus,  Denver,  Omaha, 

Milwaukee,      Baltimore, 
Saint  Paul,  Minneapolis. 
— New  Haven. 
Louisville. 


1911 
1912 


This  Is  a  Partial  List  Only 
The  first  teachers'  pension  bill  was  passed  by  the  New  York  State  legislature  in  1894. 
About  30%  of  all  the  public  school  teachers  in  the  United  States  are  now  under  pension  systems. 
About  15%  are  non-contributory  systems,  in  which  the  teachers  pay  nothing. 
About  17%  are  mutual  benefit  associations,  in  which  the  teachers  pay  all. 
About  68%  are  contributory  associations,  in  which  the  city  pays  part  and  teachers  part. 


250  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

^THE  PENSION  HABIT'^ 

The  Telephone  Company  has  followed  the  fashion  in  insti- 
tuting a  pension  system  for  employees.  We  are  getting  quite 
in  the  pension  habit.  A  great  many  big  business  concerns  in 
some  way  share  their  profits  with  employees,  or  bestow  re- 
ward for  long  and  faithful  service. 

Nearly  everybody,  it  would  almost  seem,  lives  and  works  in 
the  happy  advance  rays  of  a  sunset  of  "retirement.'^  The 
soldier  and  sailor  are  to  retire  on  three  quarters  pay.  Consid- 
ering their  troubles,  the  hello  girls  ought  to  be  worth  as  much 
consideration. 

An  irresistible  law,  the  higher  law  of  the  eternally  just,  has 
compelled  all  this.    And  we  have  yet  seen  only  the  beginning. 

Who  would  have  dreamed  of  this  pension  tendency  fifty 
years  ago?  The  clergymen  did  not,  as  they  went  out  to 
preach  righteousness  on  pitiful  pay.  And  it  is  noteworthy 
that  these  very  preachers  are  about  the  only  workers  now  left 
without  adequate  pension.  The  school  teacher,  the  college 
professor,  Mr.  Carnegie  has  pensioned.  It  might  be  worth 
while  for  the  Church,  the  richest  institution  in  all  the  land, 
to  do  the  right  thing  by  her  old  preachers. 

These  men,  however,  who  did  so  much  to  bring  about  this 
new  day,  are  not  advancing  their  claim. 

—The  New   York  Mail. 


TRANSMUTING  THE  TRUTH  INTO  GOLD 

Leslie's  Weekly  is  never  more  pleased  than  when  it  renders 
service  to  the  churches,  and  particularly  when  such  assistance 
is  in  the  line  of  aid  to  the  old  and  faithful  ministers  of  the 
Church.  In  a  recent  editorial  we  advocated  a  better  and  more 
adequate  system  of  pensioning  those  who  had  worn  them- 
selves out  in  the  service  of  the  churches.  In  addition  to  much 
favorable  comment  by  the  religious  press,  we  are  glad  to  note 
that  the  national  board  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
is  sending  the  editorial  as  a  leaflet  throughout  the  denomina- 
tion. The  secretary  of  the  board,  in  a  personal  letter  to  the 
editor,  says,  "We  greatly  appreciate  your  editorial,  and  are 
hoping  that  your  message  will  be  transmuted  into  gold  for 
the  Veteran  Preachers."    We  hope  so,  too. 

— Leslie's  Weekly. 


OLD-AGE,   MOTHERS' 

AND  GOVERNMENT 

PENSIONS 

THE  REV.  STEDMAN  APPLEGATE,  D.D. 

New  Jersey  Conference 


It  has  long  been  the  custom  of  Christian  natjons,  in  con- 
sideration of  past  services  of  government  employees,  to  grant 
an  income  or  pension,  to  take  effect  on  retirement.  It  is 
usual  to  define  such  pension  as  being  given  in  consideration 
of  past  service.  This  has  led  to  the  statement  that  pensions 
are  given  by  a  government,  corporation  or  private  employer  in 
the  nature  of  deferred  pay.  While  this  is  true,  there  is 
another  thought  that  should  not  be  overlooked.  The  object  of 
attaching  a  pension  to  a  post  is  not  merely  to  reward  past 
service,  but  to  secure  continuity  of  service  as  well  as  to  enable 
the  employer  to  dispense  with  the  services  of  an  employee 
without  hardship  to  him,  should  old  age  or  infirmity  render 
him  inefficient. 

The  granting  of  pensions  was  first  applied  to  the  army  and 
navy,  and  to  persons  who  had  become  disabled  while  in  the 
military  service  of  their  respective  countries.  With  the  in- 
crease of  national  wealth  and  government  responsibilities 
there  has  come  a  demand  for  expert  service;  and  this  has 
necessitated  the  enlarging  of  the  pension  system,  so  that  the 
departments  through  which  pensions  are  dispensed  are  now 
as  follows,  Army,  Navy,  Civil  Service  and  Judicial. 

England  has  taken  the  initiative  in  pensioning  the  veteran 
citizen — the  old  man — and  now  dispenses  pensions  through 
the  civil  list  as  well  as  through  the  political  and  ecclesiastical 
list._  The  civil  list  pensions  are  given  in  England  to  the  fol- 
lowing classes  of  persons,  on  recommendation  to  the  Crown 
by  the  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury :  those  who  may  have  just 
claims  on  the  royal  beneficence  by  their  personal  services  to 
the  Crown,  or  their  performance  of  duties  to  the  public; 
those  who  by  useful  discoveries  in  science  or  by  attainments 
in   literature   or   art   have   merited   gracious   consideration. 

251 


252  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

The  ecclesiastical  pension  is  granted  to  bishops,  deans,  canons, 
and  incumbents  who  may  become  incapacitated  by  age  or 
infirmity  for  the  discharge  of  their  ecclesiastical  duties,  such 
pensions  to  be  a  charge  upon  the  revenues  of  the  see  or  cure 
vacated. 

Germany,  Italy,  Switzerland  and  a  few  other  countries  have 
introduced  a  system  of  government  insurance  which  requires 
that  an  amount  proportioned  to  the  individual  wage  shall  be 
paid  by  the  insured  person,  the  government  also  paying  a 
proportionate  amount ;  thus  giving  stimulus  to  the  individual, 
and  to  the ,  government  control  and  general  supervision. 
When  from  old  age,  or  other  causes,  it  becomes  necessary  for 
the  insured  .to  retire  from  active  service,  the  government, 
through  this  system  of  insurance,  provides  a  yearly  allowance 
for  the  veteran  citizen,  the  old  man. 

While  the  legal  enactment  for  the  care  of  government 
employees  is  eminently  commendable,  it  has  remained  for 
our  modern  Christian  civilization  to  discover  the  factors  of 
strength,  glory  and  national  greatness  in  the  form  of  the 
noble  and  loyal  citizenship,  self-respecting,  self-sacrificing 
motherhood,  and  to  grant  pensions  to  old  men  and  mothers. 
These  citizens  by  their  thrift  and  consecrated  energy,  by  their 
noble  and  heroic  sacrifices,  and  by  their  united  devotion  to 
national  standards,  have  contributed  to  the  greatness  and 
glory  of  their  nation.  Therefore,  they  are  sustained  when 
incapacitated  for  further  service,  or  when  overtaken  by  un- 
toward circumstances  over  which  they  have  no  control,  from 
the  bounty  which  they  helped  to  create. 

It  is  a  very  pleasing  fact  to  note  that  our  Government 
now  grants  a  pension  to  dependent  motherhood,  because  of 
a  deceased  son  who  may  have  been  the  support  of  such  mother. 
The  wisdom  of  many  of  our  State  Legislatures  in  enacting  a 
law  pensioning  widowed  motherhood,  is  highly  commendable. 
The  wise,  the  humane,  and  Christian  character  of  such  a 
law,  can  be  seen  in  the  lessening  of  crime,  the  introducing 
of  a  higher  morality,  and  the  giving  of  strength  to  the  State 
and  nation.  The  amount  given  such  a  widow  is  paid  by 
the  State  where  she  may  reside,  in  proportion  to  the  number 
and  age  of  her  children.  The  child  labor  law  of  many  States 
also  provides  that  where  the  labor  of  a  child  is  necessary  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  home,  the  amount  of  wage  the  child 


OLD  AGE  AND  MOTHERS'  PENSIONS        253 

could  earn  is  paid  to  the  family  by  the  State,  and  the  child  is 
kept  in  school,  in  training  for  efficient  citizenship.  This  at 
first  was  considered  as  charity;  but  self-respecting  and  hon- 
orable families  were  loath  to  receive  such  charity,  and  to 
overcome  such  embarrassment  the  money  is  now  provided  as 
a  scholarship  for  the  child. 

Another  pleasing  feature  in  connection  with  the  pension 
idea  is  that  many  of  the  States  and  cities  of  our  Republic 
recognize  the  necessity  and  value  of  the  Avork  of  education 
and  public  instruction  and  are  retiring  public  teachers  on  a 
pension. 

Much  might  be  said  in  commendation  of  various  public 
service  institutions  which  are  creating  retirement  funds  for 
faithful  employees.  It  would  seem  that  an  awakened  con- 
science is  recognizing  the  worth  of  the  Master's  statement 
over  nineteen  centuries  ago,  that  "the  laborer  is  worthy  of 
his  hire"  and  that  the  hire  is  more  than  the  daily  wages. 

In  introducing  these  humane  conditions  the  ethics  and 
altruism  of  Jesus  Christ  are  very  prominent.  While  the  com- 
mendable conditions  of  our  social  system  are  constantly  as- 
suming new  proportions,  it  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  an  institution  of  no  mean  propor- 
tion, prospering  under  the  leadership  of  men  who  have  in 
their  manhood,  the  elements  of  courage,  heroism  and  self- 
sacrifice  and  who  are  faithfully  presenting  the  economic, 
social,  and  spiritual  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ,  has  failed  to 
provide  a  reasonable  average  support  for  the  active  min- 
ister, and  a  worthy  amount  for  the  Retired  Veteran. 

The  granting  of  pensions  by  governments,  corporations 
and  private  individuals,  is  based  upon  the  character  and 
relationship  of  the  pensioned  to  society  or  governments.  If 
this  principle  of  reward  of  position  and  merit  were  applied  to 
the  character  and  value  of  church  work,  and  the  relationship 
sustained  to  such  work  by  the  faithful  pastor  and  preacher, 
as  it  is  applied  to  society  and  its  workers,  there  would  not 
be  one  poorly  paid  minister  or  one  veteran  without  a  reason- 
able pension;  indeed,  if  the  scriptural  injunction  to  steward- 
ship were  obeyed,  there  would  be  no  need  of  mentioning, 
much  less  of  pleading  for,  such  a  worthy  cause. 

The  Word  of  God  is  rich  in  promises  to  the  man  who  meets 
the  obligation  of  stewardship;  Proverbs  3.  9,  10,  "Honor  the 


254  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

Lord  with  thy  substance,  and  with  the  first-fruits  of  all  thine 
increase,  so  shall  thy  barns  be  filled  with  plenty,  and  thy 
presses  shall  burst  out  with  new  wine."  In  Malachi  3.  10,  11, 
we  have  a  command,  with  a  promised  blessing :  "Bring  ye  all 
the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in 
mine  house,  and  prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and 
pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough 
to  receive  it.  And  I  will  rebuke  the  devourer  for  your  sakes, 
and  he  shall  not  destroy  the  fruits  of  your  ground;  neither 
shall  your  vine  cast  her  fruit  before  the  time  in  the  field,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts." 

Christianity  repudiates  the  pagan  doctrine  of  ownership 
and  recognizes  possession  as  the  token  of  confidence  on  the 
part  of  the  divine  owner.  Stewardship  is  not  a  natural 
human  conception;  the  unaided  human  instinct  will  not  dis- 
cover it.  The  recognition  of  stewardship  marks  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  spiritual  man.  The  divine  ownership  of  the  land 
was  recognized  by  the  Israelites,  based  upon  the  statement 
of  God's  Word,  "The  land  shall  not  be  sold  forever:  for  the 
land  is  mine;  for  ye  are  strangers  and  sojourners  with  me" 
(Leviticus  25.  23).  As  an  acknowledgment  of  divine  owner- 
ship, a  tenth  of  the  product  of  the  soil  was  set  aside  to  main- 
tain the  worship  of  Jehovah.  The  Jews  were  also  required  to 
tithe  their  annual  increase  in  order  to  meet  the  expense  of 
those  religious  and  social  festivals  whose  purpose  was  to  exalt 
patriotism  and  to  maintain  friendship  among  the  people,  as 
well  as  to  care  for  the  poor.  When  Christians  learn  that  "the 
earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fullness  thereof,"  ingrained  hu- 
man selfishness  will  disappear,  and  instead  there  will  be  the 
outflow  of  human  gratitude,  love  and  sympathy,  and  a  ready 
response  to  the  sense  of  obligation.  Then  God's  Church  and 
ministry  will  be  sustained  according  to  the  divine  plan,  not 
as  a  charity,  not  as  a  pension,  but  as  a  divinely  appointed 
support,  not  from  the  people  but  from  God,  whose  portion  is 
in  their  hands. 

The  Church  a  Social  Asset 

There  are  some  who  harp  on  the  inefficiency  of  the  Church, 
but  such  people  do  it  ignorantly,  and  therefore  may  obtain 
mercy.     The  educating  of  the  conscience  and  the  improving 


OLD  ACxE  AND  MOTHERS'  PENSIONS        255 

of  the  morals,  which  is  the  work  of  the  Church,  with  her 
teachiiif]^  of  truth  respecting  God  and  man,  sin  and  righteous- 
ness, life  and  deatli,  hea^'en  and  hell,  are  responsible  for  our 
beautiful  towns,  with  their  excellent  moral  tone;  which  else 
would  be  hotbeds  of  vice  and  crime.  Church  members  are  not 
often  criminals;  neither  are  all  non-churcli-going  people  crim- 
inals, but  the  vast  majority  of  such  come  from  the  latter 
class.  Every  person  in  a  community  profits  by  the  presence 
of  the  church  in  that  community. 

We  are  told  that  crime  costs  the  nation  more  than  seven 
hundred  million. dollars  each  year.  Without  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ,  this  would  be  multiplied  many  times.  The 
Church  not  only  curbs  crime,  protects  society,  checks  dis- 
order and  wards  off  barbarism,  but  it  nurtures  childhood, 
redeems  men  from  sin,  and  inspires  them  with  lofty  purposes 
and  high  ideals.  She  preaches  the  goodness  of  God  and  the 
brotherhood  of  man. 

In  many  communities  the  Church  has  been  living  largely  as 
a  charity.  The  consecrated  preacher,  too  modest  to  plead 
his  own  cause  and  too  self-sacrificing  to  allow  other  interests 
not  to  appear  prominent,  has  taken  an  insufficient  stipend 
for  the  generous  services  bestowed,  and  has  made  a  charitable 
donation  to  churches  of  the  balance  that  was  due  him.  0, 
that  the  eyes  of  the  laymen  might  be  opened,  and  that  they 
might  see  that  Christ's  honor  is  at  stake  and  that  the  first  obli- 
gation is  to  God  the  giver !  The  individual,  the  Church,  or 
the  nation  lacking  this  element  of  honor  will  not  long  con- 
tinue to  prosper.  0,  that  our  people  might  see  the  horsemen 
and  chariots  of  God  who  have  fought  their  battles  for  them 
amid  trouble  and  sorrow,  whose  great  victories  for  temporal 
prosperity,  home  and  heaven  have  been  ushered  in  by  these 
battalions  of  God !  Then  the  laborer  would  be  considered 
worthy  of  his  hire,  and  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out 
the  corn  would  be  unmuzzled;  young  men  would  be  cheered 
and  inspired  in  their  labors,  old  men  would  be  comforted, 
widowhood  would  be  sustained,  and  God's  Church  would  be 
eminently  successful  in  her  varied  labors  for  saving  men. 

Stedman  Applegate. 

Ocean  Grove,  N.  J. 


256  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

ILLINOIS  PENSIONS  MOTHERS 

The  Illinois  law  provides  for  the  partial  support  of  moth- 
ers with  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age.  Any  mother 
who  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  has  resided  in 
the  county  for  three  years,  whose  husband  is  dead,  or  whose 
husband  has  become  permanently  incapacitated  for  work,  is 
entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  law  for  her  children  upon  com- 
plying with  its  requirements.  The  assistance  allowed  to  each 
mother  cannot  exceed  $15  a  month  where  there  is  but  one 
c'liild,  and  shall  never  exceed  $50  a  month  for  one  family. 
Tlie  pensions  are  awarded  by  action  of  the  Juvenile  Court, 
attached  to  which  is  a  pension  department  created  for  the 
purpose  of  investigating  applicants. 


PENSIONING  MOTHERS  IN  OHIO 

More  than  six  hundred  applications  have  been  made  for 
pensions  under  the  Mothers^  Pension  Act  of  Ohio.  A  special 
tax  levy  is  made.  In  Hamilton  County  (Cincinnati)  the 
commissioners  recently  appropriated  $60,000  to  be  used  for 
these  pensions.  Those  eligible  for  pensions  are  ^'women 
whose  husbands  are  dead,  imprisoned,  permanently  disabled 
for  work  by  reason  of  mental  or  physical  infirmity,  and  de- 
serted women  when  the  desertion  has  extended  over  a  period 
of  three  years.'^  The  women  must  present  a  clean  moral 
record,  and  give  evidence  of  the  school  attendance  of  their 
children  and  of  actual  poverty.  They  must  have  been  resi- 
dents of  the  county  for  at  least  two  years,  and,  as  bene- 
ficiaries, must  not  perform  labor  outside  of  their  homes, 
except  with  the  consent  of  the  court.  The  maximum  allow- 
ance amounts  to  $15  a  month  for  a  woman  with  one  child, 
and  $7  a  month  each  for  other  children. 


OLD-AGE  PENSIONS 
Editorial^  Philadelphia  Ledger 
Whatever  opinion  one  may  hold  as  to  the  economic  effect  of 
the  various  forms  of  old-age  pensions  which  are  in  operation 
in  the  world,  whether  voluntary  or  as  part  of  governmental 
systems,  the  subject  is  one  which  is  commanding  an  increas- 
ing attention  at  the  hands  of  legislators  and  students  of  social 
science.    The  association  of  the  subject  with  the  extreme  pro- 


OLD  AGE  rENSIONS  257 

grams  of  socialism  has  tended  to  divert  the  interest  of  many 
who  would  otherwise  give  the  problem  the  study  which 
its  importance  deserves,  though  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  the 
present  German  law  of  compulsory  insurance,  w^as  enacted 
through  the  influence  of  Bismarck,  who  hoped  by  thus  fore- 
stalling the  Socialists  to  check  the  spread  of  that  party. 

In  America  the  subject  has  never  been  seriously  considered 
as  coming  within  the  scope  of  practical  or  desirable  legisla- 
tion. The  nearest  approach  to  governmental  old-age  pen- 
sions is  the  retirement  on  part  pay  of  certain  officers  who  have 
given  their  lives  to  the  public  service,  but  the  extension  of 
the  system  to  the  general  civil  service  has  always  been 
promptly  negatived  whenever  seriously  proposed.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  system  has  been  applied  to  a  larger  extent 
than  is  generally  appreciated  by  railways  and  corporations. 

The  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor  has  lately 
issued  a  special  report  on  this  subject,  which  sums  up  not 
only  the  salient  facts  about  the  old-age  pension  plans  in 
operation  abroad — not  omitting,  of  course,  the  system  in  New 
Zealand,  that  land  of  social  experiments — but  gives  the  es- 
sential features  of  the  various  plans  which  have  more  or  less 
seriously  been  suggested.  Taking  the  statistics  of  Massa- 
chusetts for  the  purpose  of  comparison,  the  compiler  of  this 
report  shows  that  in  a  recent  year  the  aggregate  expenditures 
by  the  State,  cities  and  towns  and  by  individuals  and  corpora- 
tions for  charitable  purposes  and  soldiers'  relief  were  $10,- 
948,868,  or  an  average  benefaction  per  capita  of  $3.90. 

To  this  computation  were  added  the  figures  from  the  census 
of  the  persons  over  sixty  years  of  age,  the  statistics  of  deaths 
and  the  expectation  of  life  as  computed  by  insurance  actu- 
aries, so  that  the  author  of  the  report  was  in  a  position  to 
estimate  the  amount  of  money  that  would  be  required  to  pay 
old-age  pensions  in  that  State.  It  is  declared  that  the  sum 
now  expended  in  charity  would  pay  an  annual  pension  of 
two  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  to  one  fourth  or  one  fifth  of 
the  persons  in  the  State  sixty-five  years  of  age  and  over ;  and 
that  as  the  experience  abroad  is  that  not  more  than  one  fifth 
of  those  beyond  sixty  or  sixty-five  apply  for  the  old-age  pen- 
sions, the  feasibility  of  old-age  pensions  in  Massachusetts  is 
thereby  established.  The  assumption  is  that  old-age  pensions 
would  do  away  with  the  necessity  for  charity. 


Yl^MMi^^mi^ 


TWO  WORKMEN:  LIKENESS— CONTRAST— lU^lASON 
A  Tjkknkss 

.Pivacliei's  and  I)ri('klay(M-s  both  liavo  lioiiorahlc  vocations. 

Preachors  aiul  bricklayers  holli  do  coiislnicii\o  work. 

ProacluM's  and  !>  rick  layers  both  earn  honest  livelilioods. 

Preachers  and  Bricklayers  both  support  families  and  uphold 
society. 

A    CONTKAST 

The  Preacher  Tlie  P>ricklaycr 

Receives    an    average    salary  Receives  $5  per  day,  $1,500 

of  $()00.  l)er  year. 

Requires  seven  to  ten  years'  Serves  a   three-year   ai)i)ren- 

preparation.  ticeship. 

Buys     l)ooks     costing     from  lUiys  tools  costing  $1)0. 

$200  to  $300  annually. 

Buys    working    clothes    cost-  Buys  w^orking  cloHu^s  costing 

ing  from  $40  to  $(50.  $'20. 

Makes  his  home  a  social  cen-  l\egards    his    lionie    as    Ids 

ter.  castle. 

Occui)ies  a  movable  "tent  or  lias  a   fixed  home  and  may 

cottage."  own  it. 

Is  paid  irregularly  and  nn-  Has  an   honest  lien   for   Ins 


certainlv. 


258 


wages. 


TWO  WORKMEN'  2r/,) 

The  liKA.srjN' 

The  expenses  of  rninvfters  are  necessarily  larrjer  than  those 
of  the  majority  of  an  average  congregation. 

The  parsfjnage  must  iKi  in  such  a  condition  as  to  be  ofx^n 
to  all  at  all  times. 

The  dress  of  the  minister  and  his  family  must  be  such  aa 
will  l>ear  inspection. 

The  mechanic,  the  farmer,  and  most  jKjrs^jns  who  la^K>r 
for  a  living  have  special  garments  to  l>e  worn  while  they 
work;  but  the  minister  must  \xi  ready  to  visit  the  sick,  or  to 
receive  a  person  who  may  call  at  his  residence,  at  all  hours, 
even  in  small  communities. 

He  is  frequently  apr)ealed  to  by  the  jxKjr,  and  he  musi  give 
to  everj'thing  for  which  ap[Xjals  are  made  in  the  Church. 

He  is  expected  to  entertain  b^^th  the  officials  of  his  own 
Church  and  the  general  officials. 

In  purchasing,  a  minister  cannot  make  a  close  l;argain 
without  the  loss  of  prestige. 

The  minister  must  buy  books  and  l^e  a  constant  reader. 
One  man  of  influence  in  his  congregation  can  injure  his  repu- 
tation by  charging  him  with  being  illiterate. 

Jle  must  pay  traveling  expenses  to  Conventions,  Synods  and 
Conferences. 

Many  cures  are  projx^sed  for  the  condition  of  inade^^uate 
support:  but  there  is  none  so  wise,  so  philos^jphical,  so  effef:- 
tive  as  for  the  Church  to  see  to  it  that,  whatever  present 
sacrifices  she  may  require  of  her  Ministers,  they  may  know- 
that  in  Old  Age  they  will  l>e  sufficiently  provided  for. 


MOTHERS'  PEXSIOX  FUXDS 
Courtesy  of  Dr.  AV.  H.  Foulkes 
Mothers'  Pension  Funds  are  established  bv  law  in- 


CaSlornia  MkiusaiD 

Coiotado  Uvamaau  Utah 

Idaho  MiwMri  W 

Iffimw  Kelmfca  W 

Matoe  New  ittmj  Ifm 

For  example:  Ohio  gives  a  pension  of  ^lo  sl  month  to  a  de- 
pendent widow  with  one  child  under  14  years  of  age;  and 
a  jjension  of  $7  a  month  for  each  additional  child  under  14 
years  of  age. 


260  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

UNITED  STATES  PENSIONS 

During  the  fiscal  year  from  June  30,  1913,  to  June  30, 
1911,  the  United  States  paid  out  $172,417,546  in  pensions, 
says  Pension  Commissioner  Saltzgaber  in  his  annual  report. 
This  compares  with  $174,171,660  in  1913,  the  largest  amount 
ever  paid  out.  The  commissioner  points  out  that  the  maxi- 
mum expenditure  has  been  reached  and  a  decrease  may  be  ex- 
pected to  continue.  The  grand  total  of  expenditures  for  pen- 
sions from  1866  to  and  including  1914  was  $4,633,511,926. 

The  number  of  pensioners  of  all  classes  on  the  rolls  for 
1914  was  785,239,  against  820,272  in  1913.  The  number  of 
Civil  War  pensioners  was  728,129,  compared  with  762,439 
in  1913.  The  largest  number  ever  on  the  rolls  was  in  1902, 
when  there  were  999^466. 

From  July  1,  1790,  to  June  30,  1865,  there  was  distributed 
for  pensions  the  sum  of  $96,445,444,  while  from  July  1,  1865, 
to  June  30,  1911,  the  total  disbursements  for  pensions  were 
$4,133,936,286.  The  grand  total  expended  by  the  federal 
government  for  pensions,  including  cost  of  administration, 
has  been  $4,351,252,591. 


HOLLAND'S  PENSIONS  FOR  OLD  AGE 

The  Old  Age  and  Invalidity  Pension  Act  in  Holland  aims 
at  three  things : 

1.  To  assure  pensions  to  those  who  have  become  perma- 
nently unfit  to  earn  their  own  living. 

2.  To  assure  pensions  to  every  man  and  woman  of  seventy 
years  and  more  whose  yearly  income  has  amounted  to  $480. 

3.  To  grant  annuities  to  the  orphans  of  those  insured 
under  the  pension  act  until  they  shall  have  reached  the  age 
of  thirteen  years. 

The  objection  that  seventy  years  is  very  old  and  that  most 
laboring  people  do  not  reach  that  age  cannot  be  urged  against 
this  measure,  because  it  is  coupled  with  the  invalidity  act, 
which  extends  the  same  pension  as  the  old  age  act,  to  all  those 
insured  under  its  provisions.  So  when  a  laborer  through  ill 
health  or  weakness  can  no  longer  earn  his  bread  he  (or  she) 
can  draw  a  pension.  It  is  immaterial  whether  that  pension  is 
called  "invalidity"  or  "old  age," 


PART  II.     THE  CLAIM  FOREMOST 

CHAPTER  III.    POST-MORTEM  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WEALTH 

PAGE 

1.  Influence  Made  Immortal Warren 262 

2.  Wills Horlou 263 

3.  "Safe"  and  ''Sound"  Wills Rcmsen 274 

Parson  Turrel's  Legacy.     Holmes.  .  .274 

Horse  Provided  for  in  Will 275 

Getting     and     Spending.      Christian 

Advocate 275 

Illustrations — Life  Annuity  Bonds .  .  .  276 

Life  Annuity  Bond 277 

Application  Blank  Life  Annuity  Bond .  27S 

4.  Banker   Oliver's  Investment 279 

5.  List  of  Annual  Conference   Organizations 289 


INFLUENCE  MADE  IMMOETAL 
Bishop  Henry  W.  Warren,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Last  year  45,737  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  were  transferred  from  the  church  militant  to  the 
church  triumphant.  Some  thousands  of  these  had  property 
which  they  had  a  right  to  dispose  of  to  loved  ones  by  will. 
We  wish  to  commend  a  more  general  inclusion  of  the  Lord 
among  the  loved  ones. 

This  is  a  matter  of  justice  and  obligation.  AYhile  men 
own  and  personally  possess  property,  they  are  simply  stewards 
as  related  to  God,  who  giveth  the  power  to  get  wealth,  and 
hence  should  be  considered  in  its  use  and  disposal.  This  jus- 
tice and  obligation  also  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  gen- 
eral community  has  been  a  factor  influential  in  making  the 
getting  of  wealth  possible.  Men  are  actually  indebted  to 
many  public  causes  for  their  wealth.  There  is  the  university 
that  gave  him  his  education  at  about  ten  per  cent  of  its  cost. 
There  is  the  Church  that  made  character  possible.  There  is 
the  cooperation  of  the  customers  with  the  tradesman,  and 
there  is  the  unearned  increment  on  many  an  investment  in 
real  estates,  etc.  It  is  right  that  these  aids  to  getting  wealth 
should  share  in  its  distribution. 

This  disposal  greatly  affects  the  estimation  in  which  the 
legatee  is  held.  Everybody  loves  the  posthumous  benefactor 
of  the  lowly  and  needy  children  of  earth.  Even  the  other 
heirs  see  that  their  friend  has  higher  ideas  than  mere  money- 
getting  and  broader  sympathies  than  one's  own  family. 

It  also  affects  one's  own  sense  of  relation  to  God. 

As  life  draws  toward  the  close  one  wishes  that  his  useful- 
ness might  be  prolonged.  It  can  be  and  should  be  made  per- 
petual by  will. 

Ministers  should  make  it  a  part  of  their  business  to  instruct 
the  people  in  regard  to  their  high  privileges  in  this  matter. 
Pope  Leo  XIII  has  no  delicacy  to  prevent  him  from  perform- 
ing his  duty  in  that  respect.  In  an  encyclical  letter  he  urges 
all  who  have  received  divine  bounties,  either  external  or  gifts 
of  mind,  to  employ  them  as  a  steward  of  Providence  for  the 
benefit  of  others.  In  the  time  of  Christ  there  were  no  general 
agencies  by  which  one  could  benefit  the  world.  Hence  He 
highly  commended  and  commanded  alms  giving  to  one's  neigh- 
bors, and  wonderfully  enlarged  the  meaning  of  that  word. 


WILLS 

OLIVER  H.  HORTON 

For  Sixteen  Years  Judge  Circuit  Court,  Chicago 
For  Three  Years  Judge  Appellate  Court,  Illinois 


I.  HAVE  YOU  MADE  YOUR  WILL? 

To  ask  this  may  seem  a  delicate  matter;  but  to  make  a 
Will  does  not  shorten  life,  and  you  alone  know  to  what 
cause  you  wish  to  leave  your  property.  It  is  possible  to  do 
good  perpetually  by  a  wise  bequest. 

//  you  have  not  made  your  Will,  should  you  not  do  so  now  ? 

If  you  have  already  made  your  Will,  please  read  these  pages 
and  then  consider  whether  it  is  as  you  wish  it  to  be. 

Believing  that  he  was  doing  a  lasting  favor  to  godly  and 
benevolent  people,  the  writer  has  prepared  these  suggestions 
and  forms. 

Let  me  first  state  some  facts  about  Wills,  make  some  sug- 
gestions as  to  their  form  and  the  mode  of  executing  them, 
name  a  most  worthy  beneficiary,  and  then  "show  unto  you  a 
More  Excellent  Way." 

The  general  or  local  Church  Representatives  are  always 
ready  to  furnish  legal  advice  and  forms  for  those  who  desire 
to  make  their  Wills,  and  to  inform  them  more  fully  as  to  this 
important  matter. 

Bishop  Warren  said: 

"Generous  legacies  and  bequests  should  lift  the  Cause  of 
the  Retired  Ministers  to  a  basis  of  adequacy  and  dignity 
which  will  react  upon  the  Church  and  fill  the  hearts  of  workers 
in  all  hard  places  with  courage  and  hope." 

Hoping  that  by  doing  so  we  may  aid  the  friends  of  Veterans, 

who  may  be  making  bequests,  we  state  some  principles  and 

rules  which  are  applied  in  the  interpretation  of  Wills  and 

give  some  forms  and  suggestions  as  to  making  and  executing 

them. 

263 


264  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

11.  YOU  MAY  BE  YOUR  OWN  EXECUTOR 

Before  explaining  Wills  let  us  urge  that,  as  far  as  practi- 
cable, you  be  your  own  Executor.  The  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  and  other  Church  organizations^  present  a  safe 
and  simple  aid  to  this.  We  trust  that  it  would  give  you 
pleasure  to  assist  the  Veteran  Preachers.  To  enable  you  to 
do  so,  in  case  you  can  not  forego  the  income  during  life,  the 
different  Hiurch  Boards  issue  Life  Annuity  Bonds  which 
pay  you  a  liberal  annuity,  semi-annually,  quarterly  or 
monthly  for  life.  Payments  thus  provided  for  are  secured 
beyond  all  question.  Such  LIFE  ANNUITY  BONDS  not 
only  provide  an  income  for  life  and  guard  effectually  against 
uncertainties  and  unfortunate  investments,  but  they  remove 
all  doubts  and  uncertainty  in  reference  to  the  execution  or 
interpretation  of  Wills,  and  save  court  fees  and  other  costs. 

There  is  no  safer  investment  and  no  better  mode  of  secur- 
ing beyond  all  doubt  a  definite  income  for  life  than  is  offered 
by  these  Life  Annuity  Bonds.  And  further,  you  will  rejoice 
that  when  you  no  longer  need  the  income  the  money  will  go 
on  doing  good  in  your  name  perpetually. 

IIL  INTENT  OF  TESTATOR 

The  controlling  rule  in  Courts  of  last  Resort  is  to  ascertain 
what  the  Testator  (that  is  the  one  who  makes  the  Will) 
intended.  When  such  purpose  is  ascertained  the  meaning 
of  the  Will  is  determined  thereby.  But  this  purpose  must  be 
asccrfained  umially  from  the  Will  itself,  not  from  outside 
evidence. 

OUTSIDE  EVIDENCE 

There  are  some  exceptions  to  this  general  rule.  For  in- 
stance, if  a  Will  should  contain  a  bequest  of  a  farm  con- 
taining 160  acres  in  a  certain  township,  and  it  should  appear 
that  the  Testator  owned  two  farms  in  that  township,  with  dif- 
ferent acreage,  testimony  outside  of  the  Will  may  be  taken 
to  show  which  of  the  two  farms  contained  the  number  of 
acres  mentioned  in  the  Will.  It  would  thus  be  determined 
which  of  the  farms  was  meant  by  the  Testator. 

Or,  the  Will  might  devise  the  farm  upon  which  the  Tes- 


1  For  names  of  other  Church  organizations  which  receive  gifts  on  the  hfe  annuity 
Ipasis  see  page  289, 


WILLS  265 

tator  resided  without  giving  a  description  of  it.  Outside 
proof  may  then  be  offered  to  determine  where  the  Testator 
resided  at  the  time  of  executing  the  Will. 

These  illustrations  indicate  the  character  of  evidence  out- 
side of  the  Will  which  may  be  offered  to  aid  in  its  construc- 
tion, but,  generally  speaking,  as  above  stated,  the  meaning 
and  intent  of  the  Testator  must  be  ascertained  from  the  Will 
itself.     Hence  the  need  of  special  care  in  making  a  Will. 

WITNESSES 

Some  states  require  three  witnesses,  though  generally  only 
two  are  required.  We  advise  that  there  always  be  three  wit- 
nesses and  thus  make  the  Will  good  in  this  respect  in  all 
states.  Where  states  require  only  two  witnesses  there  is  no 
objection  to  having  three,  and  in  case  of  the  death  of  a  wit- 
ness, it  would  be  convenient  to  have  two  surviving  witnesses 
to  testify  to  the  execution  of  the  AYill  rather  than  to  be  com- 
pelled to  prove  the  handwriting  of  a  deceased  witness. 

A  Benevolent  Board  lost  over  $100,000  in  a  state  which 
required  three  witnesses,  because  there  were  only  two  wit- 
nesses. 

Note  this:  A  beneficiary  under  a  Will  cannot  be  a  legal  wit- 
ness of  the  Will.  There  should  be  three  disinterested  persons 
as  witnesses. 

One  of  our  Conferences  lost  a  bequest  of  $50,000  because 
a  trustee  of  the  Society  to  which  a  bequest  was  made  had 
witnessed  the  Will. 

TIME  LIMIT 

In  some  states  a  Will  must  be  made  at  least  sixty  days 
before  the  death  of  the  Testator,  which  is  a  strong  reason 
for  immediate  attention  to  the  making  of  your  Will.  Have 
you  any  assurance  of  living  two  months? 

A  great  University  lost  half  a  million  dollara  for  endow- 
ment because  the  Testator  delayed,  and  died  within  a  month 
of  the  time  he  made  his  Will. 

IV.  VAEIOUS  FORMS  FOR  WILLS 

Assuming  that  it  is  your  puri30se  to  make  a  bequest  in 
favor  of  the  Superannuated  or  Retired  Preacliers  and  the 
Widows  and   Orphans  of  deceased   Ministers   of   the  Meth- 


266  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

odist  Episcopal  Church,  you  could  use  one  of  the  following 
forme : 

FORM  OF  WILL 

Know  all  men  hy  these  presents  that  I 

of County  of 

State  of  being  of  sound  and  dis- 
posing mind  and  memory  do  make,  publish  and  declare  this 
my  last  Will  and  Testament  as  follows: 

FIRST,  I  will  and  direct  that  my  funeral  expenses  and 
my  just  debts  be  paid  by  my  executor. 

SECOND,  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  to 


{Here  describe  special  bequest  of  money  or  personal  prop- 
erty, or  if  real  estate,  give  the  correct  description  thereof.) 

THIRD,  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  to  the  (Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a 
corporation  created  and  existing  under  and  by  virtue  of  the 
Laivs  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Connec- 

tional  Permanent  FundY  the  sum  of Dollars 

($ )   and  the  receipt  of  the  treasurer  of  said 

Board  shall  be  a  full  and  sufficient  discharge  of  my  executor 
for  the  same. 

FOURTH,  I  hereby  designate  and  appoint 

executor       of  this  my  last 

Will  and  Testament  and  direct  that  he  (she  or  they)  be  7iot 
required  to  give  afiy  bond  or  security  for  the  performance  of 
the  duties  of  such  executor 

In  witness  whereof  I  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affix  my 

seal  this day  of A.  D.  19 ...  . 

(Sign  here) [Seal] 

Signed,  sealed,  published  and  declared  by 

as  and  for  his 

(or  her)  last  Will  and  Testament;  and  ive  at  his  (or 
her)  request  in  his  (or  her)  presence  and  in  the  pres- 

'In  case' the  bequest  is  to  be  made  for  the  benefit  of  Conference  Claimants  in  an 
Annual  Conference,  or  for  the  Retired  Ministers  of  another  Denomination,  be  sure 
to  get  the  proper  legal  title  of  the  Conference  or  Society  which  is  to  administer  the 
money.     See  page  289. 


WILLS  267 

ence  of  each  other  hereby  subscribe  our  names  as  tvit- 

nesses  tliis day  of 

.1.  D.  19.... 


CODICIL 

(An  addition  to  or  change  in  a  Will  already  made). 

I    .•■■-. _of    

being  of  sound  and  disposing  mind  and  7nemory,  do  hereby 
make,  yublisli  and  declare  this  Codicil  to  my  last  Will  and 

Testament  udiicJi  bears  date A.  D.  19.  .  .  ., 

that  is  to  say: 

I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  to  the  (Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a  corporation 
created  and  existing  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  Laws  of  the 
State  of  Illinois,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Connectional  Per- 
manent Fimdy  the  sum  of Dollars  ($ ) 

and  the  receipt  of  the  treasurer  of  said  Board  shall  be  suf- 
ficient discharge  to  my  executor  for  the  payment  of  the 
sa^ne. 

I  hereby  ratify  and  confirm  my  said  Will  except  as  hereby 
modified  and  altered. 

In  witness  ivhereof  I  hereunto  set  my  liand  and  affix  my 

seal  this day  of A.  D.  19 .  . . 

(Sign  lie  re) [Seal] 

(Xote  Form  for  witnessing  to  Codicil  is  the  same  as  that 
to  the  original  Will.) 

CODICIL  FOR  REAL  ESTATE 
Paragraph  to  be  inserted  in  Will  or  Codicil  for  real 

ESTATE : 

[Number]  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  to  the  [Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a 
corporation  created  and  existing  under  and  by  virtue  of  the 
Laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Connec- 
tional Permanent  Fundy  the  following  lands  and  premises, 

1  See  note  at  bottom  of  page  266. 


268  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

that  is  to  say {Here  insert  location  and  correct  legal 

description) to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  with  the 

appurtenances   thereunto   belonging   to  said  Board  of  Con- 
ference Claimants,  its  successors  and  assigns  forever. 

CODICIL  FOK  RESIDUARY  ESTATE 

Patjagkaph  to  be  ikskktkd  jn  Will  or  Codicil  devising 
all  or  a  pvirt  oe  the  residuary  estate  : 

[Number]  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  to  the  {Board  of 
Co7iference  Claimants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a 
corporation  created  and  existing  under  and  by  virtue  of  the 
Laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,)^  all  (or  a  stated  fractional 
part)  of  the  rest,  residue  and  remainder  of  7ny  estate,  real, 
personal  and  mixed  of  luhich  I  may  die  seized  or  possessed  or 
in  which  I  have  any  interest. 

SPECIAL  NOTE: 

(a)  Jjct  the  details  of  ivitnessinq  the  Will  or  Codicil  be 
followed  EXACTLY  AS  STATED  IN  THE  ABOVE 
FORMS,  hi  many  states,  and  perhaps  in  all,  if  Uie  witnesses 
are  not  ALL  PRESENT  TOGETHER  AT  THE  TIME  of 
the  execution  of  the  Will  by  the  Testator,  the  Will  will  not 
be  probated  or  held  to  be  valid. 

(b)  Any  of  the  gift  clauses  of  the  above  form  of  Will  or 
Codicil  may  be  omitted  or  others  inserted.  In  either  case 
the  7iumbers  of  the  clauses  should  be  consecutive. 

(c)  Some  states  require  three  ivitnesses.  Therefore  in  all 
states  let  there  be  three  witnesses  if  practicable.  In  most 
states  only  tivo  ivitnesses  are  required. 

(d)  In  some  states  it  may  be  necessary  to  have  a  seal  of 
some  special  form,  but  generally  the  word  "seal"  written  with 
a  pen  ivith  a  scroll  around  it  is  sufficient. 

V.  BENEFICIARIES 

In  these  forms  we  have  named  as  beneficiary  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. ^ 
This  is  the  great  connectional  or  general  organization  of  the 
Church  which  looks  after  Retired  Ministers  (Superannuates), 

^See  note  at  bottom  of  page  26G. 


WILLS  269 

the  Widows  of  deceased  ministers^  and  their  dependent  chil- 
dren under  sixteen  years  of  age.  The  number  of  such  bene- 
ficiaries is  ahnost  7,000,  of  which  number  almost  4,000  are 
"necessitous  cases,"  that  is,  those  who  have  larger  needs  than, 
can  be  provided  for  by  the  Annual  Conference.  Such  neces- 
sitous cases  are  found  in  substantially  every  Annual  Con- 
ference, and  many  of  them  are  found  in  the  poorer  con- 
ferences on  the  border  or  frontier,  where  adequate  provision 
can  not  be  made  by  the  Annual  Conference  for  the  Veterans 
and  Widows. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  not  only  has  the  general 
organization  named  above,  the  "Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church/^  but 
many  Annual  Conferences  have  Invested  Funds  held  by 
Trustees  or  Preachers'  Aid  Societies,  the  income  of  which  goes 
to  the  Retired  Preachers  and  other  Claimants  who  are  related 
to  the  Annual  Conference.  It  is  very  important  that  in  any 
case  the  exact  legal  name  of  the  beneficiary  organization  be 
used.^ 

VI.  REASONS  FOR  MAKING  A  AVILL. 

(1)  If  you  do  not  make  a  Will  the  court  must  appoint  an 
administrator  to  settle  up  your  affairs.  This  person  will 
have  charge  and  control  of  your  property  for  at  least  one  year 
after  your  death,  and  may  be  a  stranger  or  an  inexperienced 
person  in  whom  you  would  not  confide  while  in  life;  or,  if 
a  relative  or  friend  be  appointed,  he  or  she  will  be  put  to  the 
trouble  of  giving  a  bond,  and  in  some  cases  may  be  wholly 
unable  to  obtain  the  bond  required  by  law. 

(2)  If  you  leave  no  Will  and  have  minor  children,  the 
shares  of  such  minors  will  have  to  go  to  a  guardian,  who  may 
also  be  a  stranger  whom  you  yourself  would  not  have  chosen ; 
and,  during  the  minority  of  your  children,  the  provision  for 
them,  earned  by  you  through  years  of  care  and  labor,  may  be 
endangered. 

(3)  By  making  a  Will,  you  can  select  your  own  executor, 
and  nominate,  if  you  like,  a  guardian  for  your  minor  children. 

(4)  By  making  a  Will,  you  can  divide  your  property  in 
a  way  which  shall,  under  all  the  circumstances,  seem  most 
just  and  equitable,  and  make  gifts  to  others  than  your  heirs  at 
law. 

1  For  the  names  of  such  Annual  Conference  organizations  see  page  289. 


270  THE  KETIRED  MINISTER 

(5)  By  making  a  Will,  you  can  make  trust  arrangements 
for  children  and  loved  ones. 

(6)  The  making  of  a  Will  is  not  a  difficult  or  troul)lesome 
matter,  nor  is  it  expensive  if  attended  to  in  a  business-like 
manner. 

VII.  MAKING  A  WILL  A  CHRISTIAN'S  DUTY 
Dr.  M.  J.  Dubois 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church 

A  duty?  Yes,  indeed,  the  neglect  of  which  is  disobedience 
to  the  command,  ^^Be  ye  therefore  ready.''  Imagine  a  soldier 
not  ready  to  start  at  the  bugle  call,  or  a  clerk  whose  accounts 
are  not  ready  for  inspection  whenever  his  employer  calls  for 
them !  Yet  thousands  of  Christians  are  as  unprepared  for 
death!  Stewards  of  the  Master,  they  are  not  ready  to  give 
an  account  to  Him;  resting  in  false  security  and  letting  the 
weeks  and  years  slip  by  rarely  if  ever  giving  a  thought  to  the 
time  when  they  shall  be  called  to  account. 

"Ready"  should  be  the  Christian's  answer  at  any  time. 
And  there  is  no  excuse  for  us,  even  were  the  call  to  be  very 
sudden,  leaving  to  others  the  deciding  of  what  to  do  with 
our  belongings.  If  this  is  true  of  the  man  with  ten  talents, 
it  is  just  as  true  of  the  man  with  one.  If  the  millionaire  must 
dispose  of  millions,  then  those  who  have  but  little  are  under 
even  stronger  obligation  to  leave  everything  in  perfect  order. 

In  the  minds  of  some  persons  there  is  a  kind  of  supersti- 
tion about  making  a  Will  which  makes  them  put  it  off  indefi- 
nitely. They  are  afraid.  Yet  what  splendid  preparation  it 
is  for  the  Christian.  To  review  all  that  God  has  given  him. 
To  realize  while  assigning  earthly  possessions  to  others  that 
as  "we  brought  nothing  into  this  world  it  is  certain  we  can 
carry  nothing  out."  To  loosen  the  tendrils  of  selfishness 
which  have  been  growing  steadily  and  imperceptibly,  until 
the  entrance  to  our  heart  is  choked  by  them !  Reopen  the 
entrance.  Loosen  t4ie  hold  earthly  possessions  have  upon  you 
and  let  the  True  Vine  grow  unhindered.  Be  strong  and  face 
death,  which  must  come  to  all  and  which  will  not  be  hastened 
by  making  your  Will.  Make  your  Will  quietly,  carefully  and 
prayerfully.  Then  you  will  look  on  the  things  around  you 
as  yours  for  a  short  time  only;  the  idea  of  stewardship  will 


WILLS  271 

grow,  and  when  the  Master  calls,  yon  will  gladly  "leave  all 
and  follow  Him." 

These  are  earnest  words  by  Dr.  Dubois.  While  their  in- 
spiration is  on  you  please  remember  tliat  providentially  there 
is  a  ^^more  excellent  ivay"  of  fulfilling  the  Christian's  duty  as 
steward  of  God's  manifold  mercies  by  securing  a  Life  An- 
nuity BoND^  and,  as.  executor  of  your  own  estate,  seeing  with 
your  own  eyes  the  accomplishment  of  your  purpose  of  help- 
ing the  aged  ministers. 

VIII.  "A  MOEE  EXCELLENT  WAY" 

It  is  the  LIFE  ANNUITY  BOND  way.  Let  us  explain  it. 

A  Life  Annuity  Bond  is  an  Insurance  Policy  "turned 
'round !"  In  life  insurance  you  pay  an  uncertain  number  of 
small  amounts,  and  one  large  amount  is  paid  at  death. 

In  a  LIFE  ANNUITY  BONp  you  pay  a  large  amount 
once,  and  receive  a  number  of  small  amounts  annually,  semi- 
annually, quarterly  or  monthly,  until  death. 

A  person  who  must  have  an  absolutely  sure,  fixed  income 
until  the  last  day  of  life,  or  who  desires  to  make  a  benevolent 
distribution  of  his  property  without  litigation,  expense  or 
failure  will  buy  a  LIFE  ANNUITY  BOND.  The  money 
is  at  once  carefully  and  safely  invested  by  the  General  Be- 
nevolent Board  of  the  Church,  or  the  Annual  Conference  and 
the  holder  of  the  Bond  receives  regular,  fixed  and  assured 
payments  during  life.  When  the  annuitant  dies  the  interest 
will  provide  perpetually  for  Veteran  Preachers  and  Widows 
and  Orphans. 

LIFE  ANNUITY  BONDS  pay  a  higher  rate  than  the  cur- 
rent interest  because  the  claim  of  a  Life  Annuity  Bond  ter- 
minates with  the  death  of  the  annuitant,  and  a  conservative 
and  economical  management  of  business  without  commissions 
or  heavy  expense  assures  a  sufficient  income. 

The  rate  paid  to  an  annuitant  on  a  LIFE  ANNUITY 
BOND  is  determined  by  the  age  of  the  annuitant,  the  older 
the  person  the  higher  the  rate.  No  medical  examination  is 
necessary, 

LIFE  ANNUITY  BONDS  may  be  purchased  for  any 
amount,  and  upon  the  life  of  one  or  more  individuals,  or  for 
one  or  more  beneficiaries  designated  by  the  purchaser. 


272  THE  EETIRP]D  MINISTER 

LIFE  ANNUITY  BONDS  are  not  experimental.  They 
date  back  to  the  days  of  the  Roman  Empire.  The  British 
Government  and  other  nations  have  issued  such  Bonds  for 
more  than  a  century. 

LIFE  ANNUITY  BONDS  pay  the  interest  at  any  interval 
desired  by  the  annuitant — yearly,  semi-annually,  quarterly 
or  monthly. 

LIFE  ANNUITY  BONDS  ARE  SAFE :  for  back  of  them 
in  the  Methodist  Episcoj)al  Church  is  the  Board  of  Confer- 
ence Claimants  or  the  Annual  Conferences  and  back  of  these 
the  General  Conference  which  authorized  them.  Back  of 
these  is  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  with  its  three  and  a 
half  millions  of  members,  and  with  that  habit  of  financial 
responsibility  and  intelligent  cooperation  which  has  made  its 
great  Boards  and  Business  enterprises  the  admiration  of  the 
world,  and  has  given  to  them  the  very  highest  commercial 
rating.  Back  of  all  these  are  invested  resources  many  times 
the  amount  of  bond  liability,  with  investments  rapidly  in- 
creasing. The  same  statement  holds  true  of  any  other  De- 
nomination.   For  list  of  organizations  see  page  289. 

Investments  are  mainly  in  loans  secured  upon  real  estate. 
The  loans  and  investments  are  made  and  approved  by  such 
experienced  and  successful  business  men  and  financiers. 

Had  the  Methodist  part  of  the  $120,000,000  paid  to  Life 
Insurance  Companies  for  Life  Annuities  since  1890  been  in- 
vested in  the  LIFE  ANNUITY  BONDS  of  the  Board  or 
of  Annual  Conferences  those  millions  would  be  to-day  and  for- 
ever serving  the  Veteran  Preachers. 

IX.  A  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  ORGANIZATION 

One  purpose  in  establishing  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants and  similar  general  organizations  is  in  order  that 
through  its  agency  the  great  and  well-to-do  Conferences 
and  great-souled  laymen  might  render  assistance  to  the  Re- 
tired Ministers  in  the  hard  places.  Thus  the  Pioneer 
Preacher,  carrying  the  message  of  the  Cross  to  new  fields, 
has  a  loving  recognition  of  his  service,  the  home  church  help- 
ing him  in  his  old  age.  The  general  or  connectional  Boards 
are  the  agents  of  the  Entire  Church,  projecting  plans  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Retired  Ministry  and  Widows  and  Orphans  of 
deceased  Ministers. 


WILLS  373 

THE  PURPOSES  OF  THE  BOARD 

(1)  To  seek  an  Endowment  for  the  I'ERMANENT 
FUND  and  for  Annual  Conferences. 

(2)  To  agitate,  inspire  and  instruct,  that  there  may  be 
sufficient  in  God's  house  for  His  aged  servants. 

(3)  To  cooperate  with  Annual  Conferences  in  every  prac- 
ticable way. 

HOW  ARE  MONEYS  RAISED? 

(1)  BY  GIFTS  FROM  GOD'S  PEOPLE.  They  love  the 
Old  Preachers  and  Love  loosens  the  purse-strings. 

(2)  BY  THE  SALE  OF  LIFE  ANNUITY  BONDS 
which  at  the  same  time  absolutely  and  perpetually  secure  the 
Gift  for  the  benefit  of  Conference  Claimants  without  possible 
litigation  or  loss,  and  provide  a  fixed  income  for  life  for  the 
donor  or  for  a  relative,  or  for  some  Veteran  Preacher  or  other 
friend  chosen  by  him. 

(3)  BY  SECURING  WILLS  WITH  BEQUESTS  IN 
FAVOR  OF  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER. 

As  to  Wills,  Bishop  Warren  wrote  a  few  days  before  his 
death : 

"An  army  of  45,000  Methodists  is  sent  over  every  year  to 
follow  Him  who  rides  the  white  horse  of  victory  on  the  other 
side.  Probably  a  fourth  of  these  dispose  of  their  property 
before  going.  Nearly  every  one  of  them  should  remember 
some  phase  of  the  cause  of  God  in  that  final  disposition.  It 
adds  rest  and  satisfaction  to  the  dying  bed  of  the  Testator 
and  thrilling  emotion  to  the  welcoming  'Well  Done'  of  the 
Master." 

ANNUAL  CONFERENCE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Besides  the  connectional  Board  of  Conference  Claimants, 
almost  every  Annual  Conference  has  an  organization  for 
administering  funds  in  behalf  of  their  Conference  Claimants. 
The  legal  title  of  such  incorporated  Boards  will  be  found  on 
page  289.  Be  sure  to  use  their  exact  legal  title  in  wills  and 
all  legal  documents. 

Oliver  H.  Horton. 

42  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111. 


274  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

NOTES  CONCERNING  WILLS 

AN  AUTHORITY  ON  WILLS 

Daniel  S.  Renisen  of  the  New  York  bar,  an  authority  on 
the  post  mortem  administration  of  wealth,  told  the  members 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Bankers'  Association  that  the  wills  of 
Ilarriman,  Bostwick,  Yerkes,  Plant,  Mrs.  Mary  Baker 
Eddy,  and.  other  prominent  persons  were  unsafe  models  to 
follow.  As  a  type  of  the  "safe  and  sounc?'  will  he  cited  that 
of  J.  Pierpont  Morgan. 

The  way  to  get  better  wills  is  to  make  them.  Lawyers  are 
able  and  willing  if  the  service  was  demanded.  The  client 
must  give  his  lawyer  a  fair  chance  and  demand  his  best 
service.  When  the  will  is  complete  he  must  demand  that  it 
be  tested  while  he  is  alive  and  able  to  repair  any  defects 
or  ambiguities  that  may  be  discovered.  This  method  pro- 
duced the  will  of  Mr.  Morgan. 

A  *^safe''  will  Mr.  Remsen  defined  as  one  free  from  danger. 
The  word  "sound,"  he  said,  meant  "without  a  flaw."  A  safe 
will  was  one  so  written  as  to  insure  the  fulfillment  of  the 
maker's  wishes.  A  sound  will  was  one  that  could  be  enforced 
even  though  it  might  not  insure  the  result  the  maker  wished. 
The  Harriman  will,  he  asserted,  was  "sound"  but  "'unsafe." 
The  will  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden  was  cited  as  a  conspicuous 
example  of  the  will  that  was  both  unsafe  and  unsound.  All 
wills  may  present  objectionable  features  when  used  as  prec- 
edents without  competent  legal  advice. 

But  there  is  "a  more  excellent  way"  than  that  of  disposing 
of  your  property  by  Will :  Administer  your  own  estate.  Do 
your  giving  now;  or  if  you  must  |)rotect  your  life  income,  do 
your  giving  by  means  of  a  Life  Annuity  Bond. 

This  will  determine  the  post-mortem  use  of  your  money 
without  possible  failure  and  will  furnish  an  unchallenged 
"safe"  and  "sound"  income  during  your  life  and  the  lives 
of  your  loved  ones. 

BETTER  THAN  A  WILL 
Money  left  in  wills  may  never  reach  the  persons  or  institu- 
tions for  whom  it  was  intended.    Many  wills  have  been  broken 
and  moneys  diverted.     Dr.  Holmes  in  "Parson  TurreVs  Leg- 


GETTIXG  AND  SPENDING  275 

acy"  tells  us  of  a  legacy  given  to  Harvard  College  that  caused 
a  great  deal  of  trouble.  In  concluding  the  story  the  doctor 
says: 

"God  bless  you,  Gentlemen !  learn  to  give 

Money  to  colleges  while  you  live. 

Don't  be  silly  and  think  you'll  try 

To  bother  the  colleges  v^^hen  you  die 

With  codicil  this  and  codicil  that, 

That  knowledge  may  starve  while  law  grows  fat; 

For  there  never  was  a  pitcher  that  wouldn't  spill, 

And  there's  always  a  flaw  in  a  donkey's  will." 


PROVIDES  FOR  HORSE  IN  WILL 

Capt.  Holly  P.  Nickell,  a  Confederate  veteran  of  Lee's 
Summit,  Mo.,  made  careful  disposition  in  his  will  of  his  old 
saddle  horse,  Pinto.    A  clause  of  the  will  reads : 

"It  is  my  wish  that  my  old  horse,  Pinto,  shall  ])e  well  taken 
care  of.  His  shoes  shall  be  taken  off  and  he  shall  be  turned 
out  to  grass  and  pass  the  rest  of  his  days  in  comfort." 


GETTING  AND  SPENDING 

Deep  problems  of  finance,  national  and  international,  are 
fidl  of  complexity,  but  popular  interest  in  money,  as  related 
to  individuals,  is  chiefly  concerned  with  two  very  easily  un- 
derstood questions:  how  to  get  it  and  liow  to  spend  it.  Few 
persons  care  much  about  keeping  it.  There  are  abnormal 
individuals  called  misers  who  are  inspired  with  a  sinister 
purpose  to  hoard;  and  there  are  ill-advised  people  who  wish 
to  build  great  fortunes  for  their  children,  thus  providing 
them  an  opportunity  for  selfish  living  and  consequent  de- 
struction of  character.  But  in  general  the  world  is  not 
anxious  to  keep  money,  knowing  that  it  must  be  surrendered 
anyhow  within  a  few  years,  when  death  will  step  in  and  cry, 
"Your  money  and  your  life !" 

The  majority  of  people  seek  to  retain  only  a  sufficient 
amount  of  money  to  maintain  life  in  comfort  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter  and  make  provision  for  those  having  claims  upon 
them.  There  is  wisdom  in  this  policy.  To  hoard  money  is 
as  foolish  as  to  attempt  to  hoard  time.    You  cannot  lay  up 


^'i^  THE  1JETI1?ED  MINISTER 

either  and  draw  from  the  accumulation  when  the  term  of 
life  is  exliausted. 

The  best  investment  to-day  is  the  Life  Annuity  Bond;  as 
far  ahead  of  other  bonds  as  the  present  mode  of  travel  is 
ahead  of  the  old  time  prairie  schooner. 

A  person  who  must  have  an  absolutely  sure,  fixed  income 
until  the  last  day  of  life,  or  who  desires  to  make  a  benevolent 
distribution  of  property  before  death  without  litigation,  ex- 
pense or  failure,  will  buy  a  Life  Annuity  Bond.  The 
money  is  carefully  and  perpetually  invested  and  the  buyer 
receives  regular,  fixed  and  assured  payments  during  life. 
When  the  annuitant  dies,  the  interest  provides  perpetually 
for  Veteran  Preachers,  widows  and  dependent  orphans. 

Illustrations 

1.  A  widow  had  $1,500.  She  needed  the  income  during 
life  but  was  distressed  as  to  its  safe  investment,  and  wanted 
the  money  to  go  to  Eetired  Preachers  after  her  death.  So  she 
paid  the  money  to  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  and 
now  receives  $45  every  six  months,  until  God  shall  give  to 
her  His  welcome  and  crown. 

2.  A  husband  and  wife  had  $5,000  which  they  had  set  aside 
for  aged  ministers,  but  needed  the  income.  They  paid  the 
$5,000  to  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants;  and  as  long 
as  they  or  either  of  them  shall  survive  will  receive  $150  every 
six  months.  When  they  are  called  Home  successive  genera- 
tions of  Retired  Methodist  Preachers  will  call  them  "Blessed." 
They  administered  their  own  estate  and  saw  their  money  in 
the  hands  of  the  Board  for  perpetual  investment. 

3.  A  Christian  woman  who,  on  account  of  age  and  ill  health 
lived  in  California,  had  a  house  in  an  eastern  city,  which 
brought  to  her  an  uncertain  income  and  all  sorts  of  expense 
and  trouble  with  tenants  and  agents.  She  deeded  the  prop- 
erty to  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants;  and  now,  with- 
out further  expense,  trouble  or  loss  on  the  first  day  of  each 
month  she  receives  a  draft  for  $30.  The  rentals  go  to  the 
Board,  and  when  her  home  in  Heaven  opens  its  doors  to 
receive  her,  the  income  from  her  earthly  home  Avill  continue, 
and  provide  comfort  for  the  Aged  Preachers. 

— The  Cliristian  Advocate. 

Note. — Many  Annual  Conference  organizations  issue    satisfactory    Life    Annuity 
Bonds.     For  addresses  of  representatives  and  legal  titles,  sec  page  289. 


UNITED  STATES    OF  AMERICA. 


INCORPORATED  UNDER  THE  LAWS 


^"^sS^I 


B&aniiDf  Cnnrerence  Claimants 


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278  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

APPLICATION  BLAXK 

(For  a  Joint  Life  Annuity  Bond  8omk  A^erbal  Changes 

Would  Be  Made) 
To  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Churchy  JOIH  /S'o.  Wabash  Ave..  Chicago.  III. 
I in  the  county  of 

and  State  of 

(applicant),  being  desirous  of  aiding  said  Board  to  assist  in  the 
support  of  Conference  Claimants,  and  desiring  at  the  same  time 

to  purchase  from  said  Board  an  annuity  of Dollars 

( $ ) ,  to  be  paid  to 

, (annuitant), 

in  semi-annual  installments,  do  hereby  declare  that,  .he  was  born 

at 

on  the day  of in  the  year 

One  Thousand,   Eight  Hundred   and ,   and 

agree  that  if  the  above  statement  as  to  the  date  of  annuitant's 

birth  be  untrue,  the  gift  of Dollars 

($ ),  made  by  me  to  you  shall  be  and  become  absolute 

and  unconditional,  and  that  the  annuity  contract  issued  by  you 
upon  this  application  shall  cease  and  be  canceled,  and  no  longer 

of  any  effect.    Annuitant's  father's  name  was 

and  h mother's  maiden  name  was 

IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 

affixed  my  seal  this day  of A.  D.  One 

Thousand,  Nine  Hundred  and 

(Signature  of  Applicant) 
[SEAL] 

(Signature  of  Annuitant  if  other  than  the  Applicant) 

[SEAL] 

WITNESS: 


Note. — For  the  names  of  other  Church  organization.s  which  receive  gifts  on  the 
life  annuity  basis  see  page  289. 


BANKER  OLIVER'S 
INVESTMENT 

A  STORY 

HENRY  ALBERT  COLLINS 

"The  Life  Annuity  Man" 


After  working  in  his  garden  until  nearly  noon  John  Don- 
aldson, a  retired  farmer,  donned  his  coat  and  was  starting 
doAvntown  to  get  his  mail  and  make  inquiries  whether  any 
more  bodies  had  been  recovered  from  the  coal  mine  explosion, 
when  he  saw  James  Oliver,  the  banker,  coming  up  the  road 
in  his  electric. 

Mr.  Oliver  stopped  at  the  gate,  alighted  and  came  toward 

the  house. 


^^? 


0Wk 


"Good  morning, 
James,"  said  Mr.  Don- 
aldson. 

"Fine  morning,  John,"' 
replied  the  banker. 

x^fter      comfortably 
seating    himself    on    the 
porch    Mr.    Oliver    said, 
"John,  it  occurred  to  me 
that  you   might  like   to 
invest  the  money  you  re- 
ceived from  the  sale  of 
that    fifty-five    acres    of 
ground    to    the    Central 
Railroad     Company     in 
something     that     would 
give  you  a  large  rate  of 
interest." 
that  was  our  dosire,"  said  Mr.  Donaldson. 
"John,"  said  Mr.  Oliver,  "they  are  getting  up  a  company 
to  develop  a  large  mine  in  the  Island  of  Batavia.     Immense 
quantities  of  gold  and  silver  have  recently  been  discovered 
there.    This  company  has  the  first  option  on  this  mine." 

279 


"Yes, 


280  TIII^]  KETIJJED  MIXISTEII 

"What  rate  of  interest  will  this  company  pay?" 

"That  has  not  been  fully  decided  yet,  anywhere  from  ten 
to  fifty  per  cent  a  year,  1  have  been  told." 

"Have  they  sold  many  shares  of  stock?" 

"Well,  from  what  I  have  heard,"  said  the  banker,  "they 
are  selling  like  hot  cakes.  Shall  I  put  you  down  for  twenty 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  stock?" 

Before  answering  the  question  Mr.  Donaldson  went  into 
the  house  and  consulted  his  wife.  Eeturning  to  the  porch 
he  said,  "James,  you  and  I  have  grown  up  together  here. 
You  have  been  very  prosperous.  Our  tract  of  land  which 
we  sold  for  twenty-two  thousand  and  five  hundred  dollars 
was  all  the  property  Mary  and  I  possessed." 

"You  have  that  other  twenty-five  acres  and  the  house  here," 
interrupted  Mr.  Oliver. 

"That  is  true,  but  wife  and  I  have  decided  to  give  that 
twenty-five  acres  to  the  town  for  a  cemetery.  With  the  big 
railroad  shops  and  other  factories  coming  here  our  town  will 
be  likely  to  groAv.  You  know  the  town  has  only  a  small  ceme- 
tery which  will  soon  be  outgrown,  and  being  so  close  in,  it 
is  likely  to  be  condemned." 

"Why  don't  you  offer  to  sell  the  strip  to  the  town  ?" 

"For  the  reason  that  the  best  things  are  always  given 
away,"  said  the  farmer.    "You  have  read  the  stanza : 

'Wisest  he  in  this  whole  wide  land, 

Of  hoarding  till  bent  and  gray; 
For  all  you  can  hold  in  your  cold  dead  hand 

Is  what  you  have  givcM  away'  " 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Oliver.  "How  much  stock  will  you  take 
in  the  new  company?" 

"James,  will  you  give  Mary  and  me  a  bond  that  you  will 
refund  to  us  any  losses  that  this  new  company  may  cause  us  ?" 

The  banker  shifted  his  chair  and  replied,  "I  cannot  do  that. 
My  money  is  all  out  on  mortgages  or  invested  in  real  estate." 

Mrs.  Donaldson  came  out  on  the  porch,  shook  hands  with 
the  banker,  asked  after  the  health  of  himself  and  household; 
then  excused  herself  and  returned  to  the  kitchen. 

"James,  did  you  hear  Dr.  Hingeley  preach  yesterday?" 
asked  Mr.  Donaldson. 

"No,  I  never  go  to  church  since  my  wife  died,"  said  the 
banker. 


JAMES  OLIVER'S  IXVESTMEXT 


281 


"Well,  he  gave  us  a  fine  sermon  about  being  useful  in  this 
world.'' 

"0,  I  suppose  so.  You  know  that  I  am  so  busy  during 
the  week  that  1  have  to  run  out  to  the  farms  on  Sunday  and 
see  if  everything  is  all  right." 

"James,  let  me  tell  you  something.     Last  Saturday  Dr. 

Hingeley  of  Chicago  came 
to  town  and  induced  us  to 
put  ten  thousand  dollars  on 
the  Life  Annuity  plan  into 
the  treasury  of  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  the  connectional  or 
general  organization  of 
which  he  is  the  secretary, 
and  ten  thousand  dollars  into 
the  Preachers'  Aid  Society 
of  our  Annual  Conference." 
"You're  an  idiot!"  ex- 
claimed the  banker,  rising 
from  his  chair  and  reach- 
ing for  his  hat. 

"Wait  a  minute,  James, 
and  let  me  say  something 
more." 

"Well,  out  with  it,"  said  the  l)anker. 

"James  Oliver,  you  know  that  Mary  and  I  have  given  each 
of  our  three  children  a  good  education.  Paul  has  a  fine 
position  on  the  Northwestern  Eailroad,  which  pays  him  a 
salary  of  five  thousand  dollars  per  year.  Esther's  husband 
has  a  larger  income.  Martha  will  soon  marry  a  man  who  is 
richly  endowed  with  this  world's  goods.  It  is  true  we 
deposited  twenty-two  thousand  and  five  hundred  dollars  in 
your  bank,  but  on  last  Saturday  Mary  and  I  gave  Dr. 
Hingeley  a  check  for  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  these  Life 
Annuity  Bonds." 

"Let  me  see  tliem,''  said  Mr.  Oliver. 

AVhile  waiting  for  the  l)anker  to  read  the  bond,  Mrs.  Don- 
aldson brought  out  a  big  pitcher  of  fresh  buttermilk  and  a 
plate  of  hot  gingerbread.  The  two  men  helped  themselves 
to  the  tempting  lunch. 


282 


TILE  EETIRED  MINISTER 


After  the  l)aiikor  had  carefully  read  the  Life  Annuity  Bonds 
he  said,  "Wliat  new  scheme  is  this  to  get  money?" 

Mr.  Donaldson  replied,  "It  is  not  a  new  scheme.  History 
tells  us  that  hundreds  of  years  before  Christ  the  old  coun- 
tries were  receiving 
money  on  this  plan.  In 
the  year  40  B.  C  the 
Konian  government  en- 
acted the  law  governing 
the  annuity  business. 
This  law,  which  has  been 
greatly  improved,  is  still 
in  force.  For  more  than 
two  hundred  years  this 
annuity  business  has 
been  growing  larger  each 
year.  One  insurance 
company,  which  also 
does  annuity  business, 
reports  having  over  one 
hundred  million  dollars 
in  annuities  on  which 
they  are  paying  interest. 
A  number  of  other  An- 
nuity Companies  report  having  from  one  to  forty  million 
dollars  each.'' 

"Where  did  you  first  hear  about  this  plan  ?"  said  Mr.  Oliver. 
"My  wife,"  said  the  farmer,  "visited  her  aunt  last  Thanks- 
giving, and  while  there  she  heard  of  two  cases  where  Annuity 
Bonds  had  been  of  wonderful  value." 
"Tell  me  about  them,"  said  the  banker. 
Mrs.  Donaldson,  overhearing  their  conversation,  came  out 
on  the  porch  and  said,  "May  I  tell  you  about  these  cases?" 
"Certainly,"  exclaimed  both  men. 

"Some  three  years  ago  a  well-appearing,  educated  young 
man  went  to  Riverview,  where  my  aunt  lives.  The  man  at- 
tended church  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  social  life 
of  the  town.  He  became  acquainted  with  the  church  or- 
ganist, the  daughter  of  a  millionaire,  and  after  a  short  court- 
ship they  were  married.    In  a  few  months  ihe  husband  came 


JA^iEES  OLIVER'S  INVESTMENT  283 

home  drunk,  after  having  spent  the  night  gam1)ling  in  a 
saloon.  Tlie  millionaire  threatened  to  turn  the  young  man 
out  on  the  street,  hut  the  daughter  pleaded  for  merey  and 
her  father  relented.  Seeing  the  unhappiness  caused  hy  strong 
drink,  in  order  to  put  temptation  out  of  the  way  of  his  only 
son,  a  delicate  lad  of  seventeen,  who  was  easily  led  by  his 
associates,  the  father  put  seventy-five  per  cent  of  his  property 
into  Life  Annuity  Bonds  for  the  benefit  of  himself,  his  son, 
and  daughter,  but  he  did  not  mention  this  fact  to  anyone 
except  his  l)anker. 

"in  about  a  year  the  father  died.  In  the  meantime  the 
daughter's  husband  had  apparently  reformed,  but  after  the 
funeral  went  on  a  protracted  spree,  came  home  frenzied  by 
drink  and  tried  to  kill  his  wife.  Thinking  that  he  would 
soon  get  control  of  his  wife's  property  the  husband  made  his 
boast  of  what  he  would  do  with  it,  and  when  he  learned  that 
the  estate  had  been  disposed  of  on  the  Life  Annuity  plan  he 
became  furious  and  threatened  to  bring  suit  to  recover  the 
money  paid  for  the  Life  Annuity  Bonds.  Finding  that  it 
was  impossible  to  recover  money  paid  for  these  Bonds,  he 
said,  'Well,  I  guess  father  was  right  after  all.'  This  man 
reformed,  and  to-day  is  living  an  honorable,  useful  life  in 
Riverview.  The  health  of  the  millionaire's  son  failed  and 
he  is  still  living  at  a  well-known  sanitarium.  Having  read 
a  circular  about  life  annuities  I  suggested  that  John  write 
to  Dr.  Hingeley  for  further  information,  and  he  came  at 
once  to  see  us  as  John  has  told  you." 

Mrs.  Donaldson  invited  the  banker  to  stay  to  dinner  and 
he  accepted  the  invitation. 

"John,"  said  the  banker,  "I  see  by  this  Bond  that  you  get 
a  good  rate  of  interest,  which  is  paid  semi-annually.  What 
induced  you  to  put  your  money  into  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants?" 

"Do  you  remember  the  pastor  of* our  church  who  died 
some  ten  or  twelve  years  ago?  He  was  never  paid  enough 
money  to  support  himself  and  family  decently,  to  say  nothing 
of  saving  anything  for  the  'rainy  day.'  He  and  his  wife 
skimped  along  in  order  to  help  out  with  our  annual  mission- 
ary collections — for  you  know  the  minister  always  sets  the 
example  for  liberality — until  they  often  went  hungry.  The 
minister  attended  a  funeral  one  cold  winter  day  and,  being 
underfed  and  thinlv  clad,  he  took  cold  and  soon  after  died 


284 


THE  IJETTRED  MTXTSTER 


with  piieuiuoiiia.     His  wife  wvwt  back  to  hvv  folks,  an  o])ject 
of  charity/' 

^'Yes,  J    rcinombcr 


mill. 


That  luiicral  was  my  wife's.  I 
paid  the  preacher  two 
dollars  for  preaching  the 
sermon.  Perhaps  I  did 
not  give  him  enough. 
Yon  know  I  used  to  give 
ten  dollars  a  year  to  the 
church  for  my  wife." 

Mr.  Donaldson  arose 
from  his  chair  and  com- 
ing closer  to  his  visitor 
said: 

"J  a  m  e  s,  don't  you 
want  to  join  your  wife 
wdien  you  leave  this 
world?" 

The  banker  attempted 
to  speak  but  could  not 
utter  a  word,  and  bowed 
his  head  on  the  arm  of 
the  chair. 
"My  wife  was  the  l)est  woman  that  ever  lived,"  he 
sobbed. 

"You  have  been  true  to  her  memory  all  these  years,  James. 
God  has  given  you  many  blessings  and  much  wealth.  He 
has  raised  you  up  from  your  recent  bed  of  sickness.  Is  it 
not  a  good  time  to  give  yourself  to  Christ  who  died  for  you? 
Will  you  not  enlist  in  His  service  and  be  true  to  Him  the 
balance  of  your  days?" 
"1  will,"  said  the  banker. 

Then  the  men  bowed  in  prayer,  and  when  they  arose  from 
their  knees  the  banker*  said,  "John,  I'm  so  happy.  I  never 
felt  this  way  before.    I  wish  that  my  wife  were  here." 

"Doubtless  your  wife's  spirit  is  here,  James.  Her  prayers 
for  you  are  answered.  You  are  'a  new  creature  in  Christ 
Jesus;  old  things  have  passed  away;  behold,  all  things  have 
become  new.' " 

Mrs.  Donaldson  wisely  refrained  from  announcing  the 
noonday  meal  until  the  men  had  risen  from  their  knees.    She 


JAMES  OLIVER'S  INVESTMENT 


285 


then  ran*?  the  bell  for  dinner,  and  the  men  entered  the  house 
and  sat  down  at  the  table. 

After  the  blessing 
had  been  asked,  while 
partaking  of  the  appe- 
tizing food,  Mr.  Oliver 
said,  "John,  what  are 
you  going  to  do  with 
that  twenty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  in  the 
l)ank?" 

"That  belongs  to 
the  Lord.  Wife  and  I 
are  tithers.  AVe  always 
set  aside  for  the  Lord 
the  first  tenth  of  all 
the  money  we  receive. 
He  has  not  shown  us 
yet  where  He  wants 
this  money  used." 

"What  about  the 
security  of  the  money 
you  gave  away  for  the 
Life  Annuity  Bond?"  the  banker  asked. 

"That  is  perfectly  safe,"  replied  the  farmer.  "The  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  handles  the  money  through  the  Per- 
manent Fund  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  an 
institution  authorized  by  the  General  Conference  and  incor- 
porated by  the  State  of  Illinois.  The  Annual  Conference 
also  is  regularly  incorporated  and  duly  authorized.  We 
will  draw  the  annuity  interest  semi-annually  as  long  as  Mary 
or  I  live,  and  after  our  death  the  income  of  our  purchase 
money  will  help  support  Conference  Claimants  as  long  as 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  this  Republic  lives." 
"Conference  Claimants!"  said  the  visitor,  "who  are  they?" 
Mr.  Donaldson  replied,  "This  Permanent  Fund  is  for  the 
worn-out  preachers,  and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  deceased 
Ministers,  who  are  called  ^Conference  Claimants'  because 
the  Church  recognizes  that  on  account  of  their  sacrifices 
and  services  they  have  an  inherent  claim  for  a  comfortable 
support  as  long  as  they  live.     They  are  to  be  paid  a  reason- 


286  THE  IJETIEED  MIXTSTER 

able  annuity  or  jDension  yearly,  and  an  additional  amount 
when  needed. 

"0,  I  see.  Not  a  bad  idea,  and  an  honor  to  a  great  Church. 
Our  bank  is  just  organizing  a  pension  retirement  fund,  and 
I  will  have  to  talk  it  over  with  Dr.  Hingeley.  He  must  l)e 
quite  familiar  with  the  problem.  What  about  taxes  on  the 
Life  Annuity  Bond?"  inquired  Mr.  Oliver. 

^^Annuity  Bonds  are  not  taxal)le,"  replied  the  farmer. 

"You  are  getting  old,  John.  Suppose  both  of  you  die  soon, 
don't  you  see  that  then  the  Board  will  get  all  the  principal  of 
the  money  you  gave  them  and  will  only  have  paid  back  the 
interest  to  you?"  said  the  banker. 

"Yes,  that  is  what  we  want,"  said  the  farmer,  "but  it  is 
said  to  be  a  positive  fact,  borne  out  l)y  experience,  that  an- 
nuitants usually  live  longer  than  other  people." 

"How  do  you  account  for  that?" 

"Simply  because  a  Life  Annuity  gives  a  stated  income  as 
long  as  the  annuitant  lives;  all  financial  worry  is  removed; 
the  interest  always  comes  promptly;  there  is  no  money  lying 
idle  to  reduce  the  income;  no  commissions  or  expenses  for 
making  new  investments;  no  grudge  against  any  one  who 
advised  a  bad  investment;  no  breaking  of  a  will;  no  court 
costs  or  guardian's  fees  to  pay  after  death,  and  the  delight 
which  always  comes  when  we  invest  money  with  God." 

"Do  your  children  approve  of  your  giving  away  this  money 
for  benevolent  objects?"  asked  Mr.  Oliver. 

"Mary  and  I  talked  with  our  children  about  it  and  they 
agreed  that  whatever  we  did  with  the  money  would  be  all 
right  as  far  as  they  were  concerned.  I  believe  you  know 
what  we  did  with  the  money  you  paid  us  for  that  north 
eighty  acres  ?" 

"Yes,  I  saw  by  your  checks  that  you  gave  five  hundred 
dollars  toward  building  the  parsonage  and  most  of  the  bal- 
ance to  your  children,"  said  the  banker. 

The  banker  seemed  in  no  hurry  to  leave.  He  moved  a  chair 
into  the  shade  and  sat  down,  and  wdien  Mr.  Donaldson  re- 
turned to  the  porch  said,  "John,  do  you  know  whether  the 
people  wdio  invest  their  money  in  Life  Annuity  Bonds  are 
satisfied  with  their  investment?" 

The  farmer  replied : 

"It  is  a  fact  that  those  who  buy  one  Annuity  Bond  nearly 


JAMES  OLIVEK'8  INVESTMENT 


287 


always  buy  more.     Dr.  Hingcley  tells  me  that  one  man  has 

l)ureliased  five  B  o  ii  d  s 
I'rom  the  Board  and  that 
quite  a  numl)er  have  two 
and  three  each.  ^lany 
purchasers  do  as  I  have 
done  and  get  the  bonds 
of  several  strono^  ors^ani- 
zations." 

^'The  twenty  thousand 
dollars  which  you  paid 
for  the  Life  Annuity 
Bonds  is  a  big  sum,*' 
said  Mr.  Oliver.  "Do 
you  know  whether  any 
one  else  ever  paid  so 
much  for  those  Life 
Annuity  Bonds?" 

"0,  yes,  quite  a  num- 
ber of  bonds  have   been 
issued  for  fifty  thousand 
dollars    to    one    hundred 
thousand     dollars     each, 
and   some  have  been  is- 
sued for  very  much  larger 
sums. 
"We  know  of  one  case  when  a  man  thirty  times  a  mil- 
lionaire, who  desired  to  have  an  unquestioned  support  for 
his  children,  placed  almost  $600,000  in  one  of  Methodism's 
institutions,  l)elieving  that,   though  great  business  corpora- 
tions   might   fail,    the    Methodist    Church    would    not   fail. 
But  of  course  most  of  the  bonds  are  taken  by  persons  in 
moderate   circumstances  who   can  pay  only  from  one  hun- 
dred dollars  to  a  few  thousand  dollars  for  a  Bond." 
Mr.  Oliver  then  asked  : 

"What  about  the  medical  examination  before  getting  a 
Life  Annuity  Bond?" 

"No  medical  examination  is  required,"  said  the  farmer, 
"and  the  older  the  applicant  the  higher  the  amount 
paid." 

"Wliat  do  you  know  al)out  the  manai^ement  of  the  funds 


Rcdui-cd  facjimile  o!  Lite  Annuily  Ron. 


288 


THE  RETIEED  MTXTSTER 


of  the   Board   of   (\)iifcren('e   Claimants'   Fniul  ?''   askod   the 

visitor. 

Mr.  Donaldson  replied: 
"An  economical  and  per- 
sonal management  of  the 
business  is  assured.  There 
are  no  commissions  to  be 
paid  to  agents,  no  heavy  ex- 
penses in  the  management, 
and  no  watered  stock  in  the 
Life  Annuity  System,  and 
for  every  dollar  of  liability 
the  Board  has  an  invest- 
ment of  twenty-five  dol- 
lars." 

Mr.  Oliver  was  silent  for 
time    and    then    asked, 
"John,  is  Dr.  Hingeley  still 
here?" 

"I  think  so.  He  and  our 
pastor  were  going  to  call  on 
several  persons  in  regard  to  Life  Annuity  Bonds.  I  will 
'phone  the  parsonage  and  inquire." 

Eeturning  to  the  porch,  the  farmer  said,  "Yes,  he  and  our 
j^astor  are  at  Andy  Campbell's  for  dinner." 

Mr.  Donaldson  reported  to  the  banker  that  the  meeting 
had  been  arranged,  as  requested,  and  said  that  Mr.  Julian,  the 
miller,  had  bought  a  Life  Annuity  Bond  for  his  wife,  as  a 
perpetual  birthday  gift. 

^'What  is  Dr.  Hingeley's  address?"  asked  the  banker. 
Handing  him  a  card,  Mr.  Oliver  read,  "Joseph  B.  Hingeley, 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants,   Room    400,    1018    South    Wabash    Avenue,    Chicago, 
Illinois." 

"Thank  you,"  said  the  banker.     "I  must  go  now." 
James  Oliver  shook  hands  with  the  farmer,  thanked  him 
for  his  hospitality,  entered  his  car  and  said: 

"If  my  visit  with  Dr.  Hingeley  turns  out  as  I  hope  it  will 
I  may  have  something  else  to  tell  you  to-morrow.  Good-by, 
John.     God  bless  you  !" 

Havana,  111.  Henry  A.   Collins. 


LIST  OF  ANNUAL  CONFERENCE 

ORGANIZATIONS    AND   THEIR  OFFICIAL 

REPRESENTATIVES 


CONFERENCE 


Colorado 

Columbia  River. 

Dakota 


Delaware . 


Des  Mcines. 
Detroit 


East  German. 
East  Maine .  . 


Arkansas 

Baltimore 

California 

California  German .  . 

Central  German .... 

Central  Illinois 

Central  New  York. .  . 
Central  Pennsylvanix 


Central  Swedish. 
Chicago  German. 


Ll'XJAL  NAME  OF  SOCIETY  AND  OFFICIAL 
REPRESENTATIVES 


Conference  Trustees  of  the  Arkansas  Conference. 

Thomas  Mason,  Treasurer,  Siloam  Springs,  Ark. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  the  Baltimore  Conference. 

Hugh  Johnston,  Endowment  Fund  Secretary,  Preachers'  Aid  Societv, 
Baltimore,  Md.,  3010  North  Calvert  St. 
The  Conference  Claimants'  Endowment  Board  of  the  California  Annu.il 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
J.  H.  Wythe,  Agent  of  Conference  Claimants'  Endowment  Fund,  San 
Jose,  Cal.,  100  Minnesota  Ave. 
Board  of   Trustees  of   the  CaUfornia  German  Conference  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 
George  Guth,  Treasurer  of  Board  of  Trustees,  South  Berkeley,  Cal., 
3312  California  St. 
Mutual  Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  the  Central  German  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
John  Mayer,  Secretary  Mutual  Preachers'  Aid  Society,  Toledo,  0., 
523  Segur  Ave. 
Conference  Claimants'  Society  of  the  Central  Illinois  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
J.  W.  Pruen,  Secretary  Conference  Claimants'  Society,  Lewistown,  111. 
Th3  Trustees  of  Central  New  York  Conference. 

Theron  R.  Green,   D.D.,   Secretary  of  Permanent  Fund,   Syracuse, 
N.  Y.,  201  Clarendon  St. 
Annuity  Fiaid  of  the  Central  Pennsylvania  Annual  Conference. 

B.  H.  Hart,  Treasurer  Board  of  Trustees,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

The  Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  the  Central  Pennsylvania  Conference. 
E.  M.  Stevens,  President  of  Preachers'  Aid  Society,  Williamsport,  Pa., 
523  Market  St. 
Trustees  of  Central  Swedish  Conference. 

C.  J.  Nelson,  Secretary  of  Trustee  Board,  Moline,  111. 
Ministers'  Relief  Association. 

H.   C.   Lemcke,    Financial   Agent  and  President,   Milwaukee,   Wis., 
3317  McKinley  Boulevard. 
The  Methodist  Episcopal  Colorado  Conference  Preachers'  Aid  Society. 
John  Colling,   Secretary   of  Preachers'   Aid  Society,   Denver,   Colo., 
2224  South  Ogden  St. 
Conference  Claimants'   Endowment  Association  of  the  Columbia  River 
Conference. 
W.  E.  Armfield,   Corresponding  Secretary  of  Conference  Claimants' 
Endowment  Association,  Spokane,  Wash.,  02227  Hamilton  St. 
Conference  Claimants'  Endowment  Fund  of  the  Dakota  Conference. 
M.  E.   Nickerson,    Secretary   of  Conference  Claimants'  Endowment 
Fund,  White,  S.  D. 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants  of  Delaware  Conference. 

J.  H.  Nutter,  President,  Marion  Station,  Md. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  the  Des  Moines  Conference 
Superannuated  Preaciiers'  Aid  Society  of  the  Detroit  Annual  Conference. 
John  Sweet,  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  Superannuated  Preachers'  Aid 
Society,  Detroit,  Mich.,  1179  Fourth  Ave. 
Mutual  Benefit  Society  of  the  Members  of  East  German  Conference. 
Henry  Miller,  Treasurer  of  Mutual  Benefit  Society,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
11G9  Green  St. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  the  East  Maine  Conference. 

S.  M.  Bowles,  Secretary  of  Preachers'  Aid  Society,  Fort  Fairfield,  Me. 

289 


200 


THE  l^ETIRED  MINISTER 


CONFERENCE 


LECAL  NAME  OF  SOCUETY  AND  OFFICIAL 
REPRESENTATIVES 


Erie 

Genesee 

Georgia 

Gulf 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky .  .  . 

Lexington   .  . 

Maine 

Michigan .  .  .  . 

Minnesota .  .  . 
Missouri.  .  .  . 
Nebraska . .  . 
New  England 


New  England  Southern . 

New  Hampshire 

New  Jersey 

New  York 


The  Erie  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

R.  S.  Borland,  Commissioner  of  Permanent  Annuity  Fund,  Mercer.  Pa. 
Permanent   Fun  1   Board    of    the  "Genesee    Annual    Conference    of    the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 
S.  A.  Morse,  Conference  Secretary  of  Pernr.anent  Fund,  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
37  Minnesota  Ave. 
Annuity  Fund  Society  of  the  Georgia  Conference. 

W.  A.  Parsons,  Secretary  of  Annuity  Fund,  South  Fpworth,  Ga. 
Executive  or  Legal  Board  of  Stewards  of  the  Gulf  Conference. 

C.  A.  King,  President  of  Executive  or  Legal  Board  of  Stewards. 
Conference  Board  of  Trustees  of  Idaho  Conference. 

Thomas  Johns,  Secretary  of  Conference  Beard  of  Trustees,  Mackay, 
Ida. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  Illinois  Conference. 

Robert  Stephens,   Field  Secretary  of  Preachers'   Aid  Scciety,   Dau- 
\ille,  111. 
The  Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  the  Indiana  Conference  cf  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 
James   A.   Sargent,    Secretary   and   Field   Agent,    Indianapolis,   Ind. 
905  Fletcher  Saving  and  Trust  Building. 
Permanent  Fund  of  the  Iowa  Conference. 

J.  C.  Kendrick,  Financial  Secretary  of  Peritanent  Fund,  Ottumwa,  la. 
Permanent  Fund  of  the  Preachers'  Aid  Society  cf  the  Kansas  Conference. 

J.  B.  Gibson,  Field  Agent  of  Pernranent  Fund;  Topeka,  Kan. 
Preachers'  Relief  Association  of  the  Kentucky  Annual  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
F.  W.  Harrop,  Secretary  of  Preachers'  Relief  Association,  Covington, 

Ky. 

Preachers'  Relief  Association. 

W.  H.  Pope,  Field  Secretary,  Louisville,  Ky.,  320  Jackson  St. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  Maine  Conference. 

W.  Canham,  Secretary  of  Preachers'  Aid  Society,  Farmington,  Me. 
The  Twentieth  Century  Endowment  Fund  for  Conference  Claimants  of 
Michigan  Conference. 
L.  E.  Lennox,  Secretary,  Kalamazoo  Mich. 
Conference  Claimants'  Endowment  Fund  for  the  Minnesota  Conference. 

Peter  Clare,  Corresponding  Secretary,  Hamline,  Minn. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  Missouri  Conference. 

T.  J.  Enyeart,  Secretary  of  Preachers'  Aid  Society,  Boswcrth,  Mo. 
Conference  Claimants'  Endowment  Fund  of  the  Nebraska  Conference. 

C.  M.  Shepherd,   Field  Secretary,  Lincoln,  Neb. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  the  New   England  Annual    Conference   of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
V.  A.  Cooper,  Agent  of  Board   of  Stewards,  Roxbury,  Mass.,  1  Ken- 
sington Park. 
Joel  M.  Leonard,  Agent  of  Board  of  Stewards,  Melrcse,  Mass,  177 
Bellevue  Avenue. 
Conference   Claimants'  Fund   of    "The   Trustees   of  the  New  England 
Southern  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 
Edward  C.  Bass,  Financial  Agent  of  Conference  Claunants'  Funds, 
Providence,  R.  I.,  145  Cranston  St. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  New  Hampshire  Conference. 

Elwin  Hitchcock,   Field  Agent,  Bradford,  Mass.,  268  Salem  St. 
Centenary  Fund  and  Preachers'  Aid   Society  of  the  New   Jersey  Annual 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Stedman    Applegate,    Corresponding    Secretary  tf  Centenary    Fund 
and  Preachers'  Aid  Society,  Ocean  Grove,  N.  J.,  £2  Embury  Ave. 
Permanent  Commission  on  Annuity  and  Invested  Funds. 

Corresponding  Secretary   on  Annuity   and  Invested  Funds,   Milton, 
N.  Y. 


ANNUAL  CONFERENCE  ORGANIZATIONS       291 


CONFERENCE 


LEGAL  NAME  OF  SOCIETY  AND  OFFICL\L 
REPRESENTATIVES 


New  York  East. 


Newark 

North  Dakota 

North  Indiana 

North  Montana 

North-East  Ohio 

Northern  German .... 

Northern  Minne.sota.  . 
Northern  New  York.  . 

Northwest  German .  .  . 
Northwest  Indiana. .  .  . 

Northwest  Iowa 

Northwest  Kansas .... 
Norwegian  and  Danish 
Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pacific  German 

Philadelphia .  .    

Pittsburgh 

Puget  Sound 


Ths  New  York  East  Annual  Conference    of  the   Methodist   Episcopal 

Church. 
New  York  East  Conference  Endowment  Fund  Commission. 

C.  J.   North,    Corresponding    Secretary,  Auburn,   N.   Y.,    138   Ei;  t 
Genesee  St. 
Centenary  Fund  and  Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  the  Newark  Conference. 
G.  C.   Wilding,    Secretary   of  Centenary  Fund  and  Preachers'   Aid 
Society,  33  Emerson  Ave.,  East  Orange,  N.  J. 
Conference  Claimants'  Endowment  Fund  of  the  North  Dakota  Conference. 
James  Anderson,  Treasurer  of  Conference  Claimants'  Fund,  James- 
town, N.  D. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  North  Indiana  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 
J.  W.  Cain,  Secretary,  Marion,  Ind.,  1702  South  Booth  St. 
Board  of  Trustees  of  North  Montana  Conference. 

0.  A.  White,  Secretary  of  Trustee  Board,  Poison,  Mont. 
Annuity  Endowment  Fund  of  North-East  Ohio  Conference. 

M.  E.  Evans,  Field  Agent  and  Financial  Secretary. 
Preachers'  Mutual  Aid  Society,  Northern  German  Conference. 

G.   Raihle,    Treasurer   and    Field   Agent  of  Preachers'   Mutual  Aid 
Society,  North  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  1602  Duiont  Ave. 
Conference  Corporation,  The  Northern  Minnesota  Conference. 
J.  W.  Robinson,  Agent  and  Collector,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Preachers'  Permanent   Fund  of   the   Northern  New  York  Conference  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
S.  J.  Greenfield,  Field  Secretary  of  Preachers'  Permanent  Fund  Com- 
mission, I'tica,  N.  Y.,  530  State  St. 
Permanent  Fund  of  Northwest  German  Conference. 

E.  W.  Henke,   Treasurer,  Charles  City,  la. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  Northwest  Icciiana  Conference. 

A.  C.  Shafer,   Field  Agent  of  Conference  Claimants'  Funds,  South 
Bend,  Ind. 
Conference    Claimants'    Permanent    Fund    of    Northwest    Iowa    Con- 
ference. 
0.  P.  Miller ,  Treasurer,  Rock  Rapids,  la. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  Northwest  Kansas  Conference. 

C.  M.  Snyder,  Secretary  of  Preachers'  Aid  Society.  Plainvillc,  Kan. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  Norwegian  and  Fanish  Conference. 

E.  T.  SchoUert,  Secretary,  Minneai  olis,  Minn.,  2923  Akirich  Ave. 
Preachers'  Mutual  Relief  Association  of  the  Chio  Conference. 

W.  H.  Miller,   Field  Secretary  of  Conference  Claimants'  Commission, 
Columbus,  0.,  1442  Highland  St. 
Preachers'  Aid  and  Amiuity  Association  of  Oklahoma  Conference. 

J.  A.  Ferguson,  Secretary,  Tecun  seh,  Gkla. 
Conference  Claimants'   Permanent   Fund  of  Oregon  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
G.  F.  Hopkias,    Financial   Secretary  of  Conference  Claimants'  Per- 
manent Fund,  Portland  Ore.,  63  East  Humboldt  St. 
Conference  Trustee  Board  of  Pacific  German  Conference. 

George  Hartung,   Conference  Agent  for  Permanent  Fund,  Portland, 
Ore.,  345  Graham  St. 
Preachers'    Aid   Society   of   Philadelphia    Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 
J.  S.  Hughes,   Treasurer  and   Corresponding  Secretary  of  Preachers' 
Aid  Society,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  2016  North  Twelfth  St. 
Permanent  Annuity  Fund  of  Pittsburgh  Conference. 

W.  D.  Slease,  Secretary  of  Conference  Permanent  Annuity  Fund, 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  3119  Kelvin  St. 
Preachers'  Aid  and  Permanent  Fund  Society  of  the  Puget  Sound  Con- 
ference. 
H.  Williston,  Secretary,  Camas,  Wash. 


2'd2 


TJIE  EETIRED  MmiSTER 


CONFERENCE 


LEGAL  NAME  OF  SOCIETY  AND  OFFICIAL 
REPRESENTATIVES 


Rock  River. 


Saint  Louis. 


Saint  Louis  German. 
Southern  California . 


Southern  German. 


Southern  IlUnois. 


Southwest  Kansas . 


Troy. 


Upper  Iowa. 


Vermont . 


West  German. 
West  Ohio . .  . . 


West  Virginia.  . 
West  Wisconsin. 
Wilmington .... 


Wisconsin . 


Wyoming . 


Superaniiuates'  Relief  Association  of  the  Rock  River  Conference. 

C.  A.  Kelley,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  Superannuates'  Relief 
Association,  Chicago,  111.,  1020  South  Wabash  Ave. 
Trustees  of  the  Permanent  Fund  of  Saint  Louis  Conference  for  Confer- 
ence Claimants. 
W.  R.  McCormack,  Secretary  of  Trustee  Board,  Kansas  City,  Mo., 
2009  Spruce  St. 
Permanent  Fund  of  Saint  Louis  German  Conference. 

H.  Zimmermann,  President  of  Trustees,  V^arrenton,  Mo. 
Annuity  Endowment  Fund  of  Southern  California  Conference. 

Wesley  K.  Beans,  Secretary  of  Conference  Funds,  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
1671  West  Twenty-third  St. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  Southern  German  Conference. 

H.  Schmalz,  Secretary  of  Preachers'  Aid  Society,  Hilda,  Tex. 
Conference  Claimants'  Society  of  Southern  Illinois  Conference. 

F.  M.  Van  Treese,  Corresponding  Secretary,  McLeansboro,  111. 
Permanent  Fund  of  Southwest  Kansas  Conference. 

John  A.  Cragun,  Secretary  of  Board  of  Stewards,  Kingman,  Kan. 

Conference  Claimants'  Endowment  Fund  of  "The  Trustees  of  the  Troy 

Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 

W.  H.  Hughes,   Corresponding   Secretary,  Mechanicsville,  N.  Y. 
Conference  Claimants'  Fund  of  Upper  Iowa  Conference. 

J.   W.  Bissell,  Agent  of  Conference  Claimants'  Fund  Commission, 
Waterloo,  la. 
Preachers'  Aid  Society  of  Vermont  Conference. 

W.  W.  Roberts,  Secretary,  Williamston,  Vt. 
Superannuates'  Relief  Society  of  West  German  Conference. 

Edw.  Sallenbach,  Secretary,  Omaha,  Neb.,  3031  Leavenworth  St. 
Conference  Endowment  Fund  of  West  Ohio  Conference. 

U.  G.  Humphrey,  Corresponding   Secretary,  220  West  Fourth  Street, 
Cincinnati,  0. 
Permanent  Trust  Fund  Association  of  West  Virginia  Conference. 

G.  W.  Kepler,  Field  Secretary,  Sistersville,  W.  Va.,  112  East  St. 
Superannuated  Preachers'  Fund  of  the  West  Wisconsin  Conference. 

F.  E.  Bauchop,  Field  Secretary,  Madison,  Wis. 
The  Board  of  Stewards  of  the  Wilmington  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 
W.  G.  Koons,  Chairman,  Lewes,  Del. 
Wisconsin  Conference  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 
Walter  A.  Hall,  Secretary,  Fond  du  Lac, 
Wis. 
Preachers  Aid  Society  of  Wyoming  Annual  Conference. 

Austin  Griffin,  Secretary  of  Preachers'  Aid  Society,  Oneonta,  N.  Y. 


A    RETIRING    COMPETENCY    FOR    THE 
RETIRED  MINISTER 


PART   III 
THE  CLAIM  SUPREME 

PROGRAM 
OF  METHODISM 

Laymen  declared  at  the  National  Convention 
of  Methodist  Men  that  the  Claim  of  the  Veteran 
Preachers  was  Supreme.  Methodism,  voiced  by 
its  Bishops,  declares  that  ^'The  Supreme  Claim 
shall  be  given  the  Supreme  Place." 

The  1915  Campaign  for  $10,000,000  will  assure 
a  Retiring  Competency  for  every  Minister,  Minis- 
ter's Widow  and  dependent  Orphan. 

The  Recognition  of  this  Claim  as  Inherent, 
Foremost  and  Supreme  involves  the  adoption  of 
adequate  Ways  and  Means,  so  that  the  Claim  may 
be  met.     A  great  Judge  declared: 

"Our  names  are  on  the  bond,  and  our  Master  is 
the  endorser.  We  do  not  propose  to  let  His  note  go 
to  protest.'' 


CHAPIER  I.  EPISCOPAL  LEADERSHIP  AND  CONFERENCE 

PACK 

1.  The  Bishops'  Address  and  Appeal 

2.  Episcopal  Addresses  to   General   Con- 

ferences   

3.  Voices  Silent  but  Persuasive 

4.  The  Episcopal  Round  Robin 

5.  The  Inauguration  Conference 

6.  Building  on  a  Good  Foundation 

Officers,   Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants  324 

7.  A  Conquering  Campaign 

Members        Board       of       Conference 
Claimants 328 

8.  We  Shall  Win McDoivell. 

Two  Men.     Shepard 332 

It  Couldn't  be  Done 332 

9.  Greetings  to  the  Con\^ention 

10.  Response 


9m 

301 

.  .303 

305 

315 

Cranston  .... 

...321 

Berrii 

325 

McDowell. .  .  . 

...329 

Anderson .... 

...333 

Van  Cleve .  .  . 

...335 

\.KmmAyA\PAymmmAKmMMmmmmmmmMiMmm 


trije  pisilbopsJ  of  tf)e 


iHettioiJisit  episcopal  Cfjurtl) 


HToljn  J^.  Vincent 
Carl  Cranston 
Babib  ^.  ifloore 
HTofjn  ^.  J^amilton 
HToscpf)  JF.  Jlierrp 
l^illiam  JF.  i«c3iotDca 
HTameg  W.  JUasfjforb 
l^illiam  S^urt 
Eutfjcr  ^.  WiUon 
2rf)oma0  51.  ^eelp 
William  jf .  glnbersion 
STofjn  H.  ^UEls(en 

^illjur  ^ 


l^ilUam  ^.  (©uaple 
Cljarlest  1g^.  g)mitt) 
Alison  ^.  HctoiS 
CDtDin  J^.  J^ugfiefi! 
Jfranfe  M.  Wvistol 
Jlomer  C.  ^ttint? 
^fjeolrorc  ^.  J^enberston 
William  0.  ^fjeparb 
i5apf)tali  Huccocfe 
jfrancifi  3.  itUConncU 
jfrEbcricfe  ©.  iCcete 
aaicfjarb  3^.  Coobc 
.  ^fjirfeielb 


295 


i 

I 

i 
I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

i 

I 

I 
I 

I 
I 


anb 

Appeal  to  ti)e  Cfjurcfj 

Ine  Ijunbreb  anb  fiftp  pears(  ago  tlje 
Ifletljobigt  itinerant  began  l)is;  toorfe 
in  America;  began  to  create  our 
Cburcb;  to  belp  builb  tfje  Eepub= 
lie  anb  to  as^siisit  in  e^tabli£^bing 
Cl)ri£it*£i  ^ingbom  in  tfte  toorlb. 
®f)e  f)i£itorp  of  iW  itinerant  \^  full  of  fjeroisim 
anb  £(elf=£{acrifice,  of  atfjiebement  anb  bictorp 
for  rigl)teou£jne£J£J.  Sn  tbe  earlp  beroit  baps;  tbe 
guperannuateb  preacber  anb  tbe  effectibe  prearfjer 
gbareb  alike  in  tbe  mobesit  s^upport  tben  allotoeb 
to  preacfjers;  anb  tbeir  families;,  ^ftertoarb  came 
a  cbangeb  faas^isf  for  tije  Superannuate.  J|e  hjas( 
granteb  bjftat  tf)e  Cburcb  cf)os;e  to  gibe,  tbe  collec= 
tion  being  regarbeb  as;  a  benebolence  anb  its;  appor= 
tionment  mabe  on  tlje  bas;is(  of  tbe  siupposieb  neces;= 
sJities;  in  eacb  cage.  aro=bap  our  Cburcb,  acting  in  in= 
creasfeb  generos(itp  anb  larger  jus;tice,beclaresf  tbat — 
**  3Cbe  Claim  to  a  Comfortable  Support  3Jnberes( 
in  tbe  (gosipel  if8linis;tr|)  "— 

3rbat  tbisf  claim  is(  not  a  graturtp  nor  a  cbaritp, 
anb  is;  not  forfeiteb  fa|>  retirement  from  actibe 
sierbice. 


c 

i 


296 


I 


I  Srtje  ilWeti)abis;t  €pfecopal  Cf)urcf)  nohj  puts;  its; 
retireb  minisiter  upon  a  l)alf=pap  basJis;,  reckoneb 
on  tfte  pears;  of  s;ertjice,  anb  tftus;  s;tanbs;  along:s;ibe 

I  tf)os;e  gobernments;  anb  corporations;  tofjicf)  grant 
olb  age  or  s;erbice  pens;ions;  to  tf)os;e  faitljful  s;erb= 
ants;  tojjo  tl)rougf)  age  or  illnes;s;  are  unable  to  bo 
tbe  bjork  tfjep  lobe. 

STbe  (general  Conference  of  1912  autbori^eb  a 
general  anb  tborougb  canbas;s;  of  tfje  Cburcb  buring 
tf)is;  quabrennium  for  a  Jubilee  (gift  of  Jf ibe  J?lil= 
lion  ©ollars;  to  tbe  funbs;  of  tf)e  barious;  Annual 
Conferences^  anb  to  tbe  permanent  Jfunb  of  tfje 
Jioarb  of  Conference  Claimants^.  ®be  pear  1 915 
fjas;  htm  cbos;en  as;  tbe  pear  for  tbe  Veterans;* 
Jubilee.  'QL^t  biorbs;  can  be  calmlp  ioritten,  but 
tfjisi  bare  s;tatement  is;  tbrilling  anb  ins;piring  be= 
ponb  all  tDorbs;.  3n  our  \s)\tt  reaclb  toe  babe  tbree 
tbous;anb  retireb  minis;ters;,  men  babo  receibeb  tbe 
(Cljurcl)  from  tlje  beroic  pas;t  anb  banbeb  it  bobin 
to  us;.  STbeir  bap  of  actibe  toil  is;  pas;t ;  tfjeir  bap 
of  s;uitable  recognition  is;  at  Ijanb.  Wt  babe  on 
our  Boll  of  J^onor  an  equal  number  of  bjomen, 
tbe  bJibobisJ  of  men  bifto  fjabe  fallen,  bjomen  bJbos;e 
s;erbices;  babe  often  ecjualeb  anb  b)bos;e  s;acrifices; 
babe  equaleb  anb  often  s;urpas;s;eb  tbe  s;erbices;  anb 
s;acrifices;  of  tfjeir  l)us;banbs;.  Sn  abbition  to  tbis; 
toe  fjabe  more  tban  fibe  btmbreb  minor  orpbans;  to 
tobom  tbe  Cfturcft  s;tanbs;,  in  (gob's;  name,  as; 
**  Jf atber  to  tbe  :f  atberle£;s;.*'  ®bes;e  all  cons;ti= 
tute  tfte  belobeb  companp  for  tobom  tbe  Cfjurcf) 
noto  inaugurates;  tbis;  neto  Campaign.  fe 


t 


297 


s^MJ!Ay4y^i^i^i^i!ii^^y4^MM 


3 


3  perfection 

^        Wt  glatilp  report  tf)at  gince  1908  tf)e  annual 

i  bi£(tribution   to   Conference   ClaimantsJ   fJ^s^    in= 

i 


^ 


esJsiarp  to  meet  tufjat  tfje  Hapmen  at  Snbianapolig 


calleb — 
'*  ^Tlje  Supreme  Claim  of  tlje  l^etireb 


tKfjeir  3fu£ft  anb  proper  Annual  Claims,  e£Jti= 

i    mateb  on  tl)e  Bis^ciplinarp  plan,  amount  to  one    p 

d    million  gix  fjunbreb  tftousJanb  bollar£f*    ^f}t  ag=     | 

gregate  geemsi  berp  large,  but  tfje  aberage  pitifull|>    P 

Somali.    ®o  meet  tbis^,  tbe  Cburcb  nobj  rais;e£f  one    P 

i     million  one  bunbreb  tbous^anb  bollarfi(  annually  ag    P 

I    follotog :  arbe  Cbartereb  jFunb,  tbe  olbegt  ingtitu=    | 

tion  of  iWetbobifiim,  probibeg  $3,600;  tbe  poofe 

Concern,  tbe  magnificent  gum  of  $300,000 ;  tbe 

poarb  of  Conference  Claimants?,  $25,000 ;  annual 

contributionfiJ  from  tbe  cburcbe£(,  $500,000 ;  ^n= 

nual  Conference   enbotomentss,  $150,000;    anb 

from  misJcellaneoufii  sources;  amountJi  are  probibeb 

tobicb  bring  up  tbe  total  asJgets;  to  $1,100,000; 

leabing  a  net  annual  liabilit|)  of  $500,000.  arbis? 

is;  s;o  nearly  perfect  tbat  toe  ougbt  to  go  on  to 


creageb  b^lf  a  million  bollars(,  from  $600,000 

i  tben  to  $1,100,000  nob).    J?ut  tbe  Cburcb  is; 

^  sJtill  balf  a  million  bollarsi  beloto  tbe  moberate 

I  gtanbarb    of    **  comfortable    support,"    anb    as    i 

I  pet  not  one  Eetireb  ^reacber  in  ten  receibesJ  as; 

I  mucb  as;  $300.     ©ur  tas;b   as;   a   Cburcb   is;    ^ 

I  to  probibe  $1,600,000  annually,  tbe  s;um  nec=    | 


^  i,99KMrff    «.U      Illt-tV      UIIJii«.    ilj(.     ^WU^IIIt'll    V«V    ^l(ll.ll(.«IIUj^M4.i;9  ^ 


'C 


'C 


298 


m  Wf)ilt  tfjere  is;  a  continued  intvta^t  of  income  g 
d  from  s;ourcefi(  enumerateb  abobe,  tfje  Campaign  of  g 
4  1915  is;  intenbeb  to  abb  at  leas;t  $5,000,000  to 
I  tbe  permanent  inbes;tments;  belb  bp  tbe  Annual  | 
j  Conferences;  anb  bp  tfje  Poarb  of  Conference  i 
I  Claimants;,  tlfje  sJucces^s^ful  is;s;ue  of  tW  Cam=  | 
i  paign,  togetfjer  bit!)  ti^e  normal  increas^e  from  p 
3    otber  sfourcesf,  toill  enable  Annual  Conferences^  to    | 

probibe  tfje  full  legal  ^nnuitp  for  all  Claimants^. 

1    ®;o  rais;e  s;uc!)  an  amount  tooulb  be  a  large  tagfe    E 

3    for  a  Somali  Cfjurcb,  but  it  is;  onlp  a  goob  bap'sf    | 

toork  for  tbe  ^etbobis;t  €pis;copal  Cburcb-    3f 
§    entereb  upon  toitf)  ^eal,  entbus;ias^m,  anb  intelligent 

cooperation,  it  can  be  completeb  buring  tbe  fees;qui= 

Centennial  gear, 
^be  Hapmen  at  Snbianapolis^  beclareb  tbis^  to 

be  *'  tbe  s;upreme  claim  of  tbe  3&etireb  Veterans;    P 

for  an  abequate  s^upport  in  tbeir  olb  age/'  3!f  tbis; 

be  true,  tfien  tbe  supreme  claim  s^boulb  for  once  be 

giben  tbe  s;upreme  place.    Stsf  funbamental  rigbt=    P 
1    eous;nes;sf,  its;  appeal  to  our  finer  s;j>mpatbiesi  anb 
j    affections^,  its;  immebiate  urgencp  ougbt  to  gibe  it 
I    gucf)  place  in  1915  tbat  tbe  **  Supreme  Claim  *' 
1    s;{)all  be  fullp  met.  i 

I        arijisi,  tben,  is;  our  Appeal  to  tfje  Cfjurcfj  in  be=    | 

f)alf  of  our  Veterans;. 
1        arf)e  Cfjurcb  tobicb  boesi  not  look  after  its;  poutb    i 
3    toill  s;I)ortl|>  l)abe  no  abults;  to  loofe  after.  | 

^  arije  Cljurcb  tobicf)  neglects  tbe  ebucation  of  its;  " 
1  poutb  bJill  sfljortlp  los;e  its;  place  of  leabers^fjip  anb  i 
^    potoer  in  tlje  toorlb.  ^ 


r/mmmmmmmmmm 


mwwmmmmmmmwm 


299 


i 


u^        2ri)e  Cfjurcl)  toljicl)  ebucates;  its;  minigtrp  anb    i-. 

d    tfjen  bisicarbs;  or  cagtsf  it  off  as;  sJoon  as;  olb  age    P 
comes;  byill  sJftortlp  (jabe  no  minisitrp,  anb  tlje 
Cljurcl)  Ujill  be  gone. 
#ob  gabe  tfje  (Sosipel,  but  it  toas;  brouglbt  to  our    | 

3    tomes;  anb  fjearts;  bp  beboteb,  s;elf=benping  me2i= 

I    sJengers;  of  J|is;  grace*    arije  bjorlb  itjill  neber  pap 
its;  bebt  to  tf)es;e  men.    Jlut  tjje  Cfjurcb  biiU  not    | 
repubiate  tfjeir  claim.  Zf^t  bebt  isf  jusit.   St  is;  long    | 

^    oberbue.    let  us;  mabe  1915  memorable  for  tl)t    p 

1    l^eterans; ! 

^nb  as;  toe  tfjus;  appeal  to  tlie  Cfturclj  toe  plebge  S 
ours;elbes;  anb,  as;  far  as;  toe  map,  plebge  tfje  tofjole  S 
Cljurcl)  to  tlje  full  anb  lopal  cooperation  toitli  tlje  | 
JBoarb  of  Conference  Claimants;  anb  tlje  annual 
Conferences;  in  tljeir  plans;  anb  efforts;  to  bring  in 
tf)is;  neto  anb  better  bap  for  ttie  Cfjurcl)  toe  lobe 
anb  tf)e  men  toe  fjonor.  ^ 

William  JF.  jWcBotoell,        | 
fos^epf)  3F.  perrp,  p 

l^illiam  9.  ©uaple, 

3  Committee. 

I 

abopteb  bp  tl)e  Jioarb  of  JBis^ljops;  in  s;es;s;ion 
at  ^as;l)ington,  ©.  C,  (©ctober  29,  1914. 


i  (^igneb)   iUtfjCr  p.  ll^ifeOU,  p 

^ecretarp. 


i 

I  __ 


g 


300 


EPISCOPAL  ADDRESSES  301 

EPISCOPAL  ADDRESSES 
TO  GENERAL  CONFERENCES 

THE  ADDRESS  AND  APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH  in 

])ehalf  of  the  Retired  Ministers  and  Widows  was  a  statement 
of  mature  convictions,  as  is  indicated  by  previous  declarations 
made  to  the  General  Conference.  The  address  of  1904  was 
prepared  and  delivered  by  the  imperial  Bishop  Foss;  that  of 
1908,  by  the  truly  and  tenderly  great  Goodsell;  and  that  of 
1912,  by  the  statesman-like  Cranston,  who  has  been  with  the 
Advance  Movement  for  his  aged  brethren  from  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  newer  and  better  things  and  whose  term  as 
Senior  Bishop  should  see  the  climax  of  the  Church's  achieve- 
ments for  the  Veteran  Ministry. 

The  brief  letters  from  the  Bishops,  which  make  a  kind  of 
"Round  Robin"  in  behalf  of  their  brothers  in  the  retired 
ranks,  are  preceded  by  some  words  from  Bishops  who  though 
dead  still  speak  in  terms  of  love  for  the  aged  brethren;  and 
will  be  followed  by  letters  of  inspiration  and  approval  from 
the  entire  Methodist  official  family. 

Episcopal  Address^  1904 

We  bring  before  you  in  review  a  host  of  Veterans  of 
the  great  army  of  itinerant  Preachers  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  who  have  served  thirty,  forty  or  even  fifty  years. 

Their  work  challenges  the  admiration  of  the  Church 
and  the  respect  of  mankind.  They  went  into  wildernesses 
and  frontiers,  into  spare  and  poor  communities  and  into 
difficult  mission  fields,  into  poor  parts  of  cities  and  planted 
the  Church. 

These  are  the  men  who  created  the  Church^  carried 
it  out  of  the  barns  and  kitchens  and  housed  it  in  consecrated 
buildings  which  they  had  caused  to  be  built. 

These  are  the  men  who,  hearing  the  voice  of  God,  turned 
their  backs  on  preferment,  left  lucrative  engagements,  stopped 
their  ears  to  the  promises  of  ambition  and  their  eyes  to  the 
allurements  of  luxury,  and  took  up  the  burdens  of  an  itiner- 
ant life,  counting  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ. 


302  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

These  are  the  men  who  brought  the  good  news  to 
you  or  to  your  fathers  and  persuaded  them  to  be  reconciled 
to  God.  They  may  well  be  called  ^camels  journeying  through 
the  desert,  browsing  on  thistles,  laden  with  jewels/ 

It  is  the  supreme  command  of  civilization  that  these 
men  be  properly  cared  for. 

Episcopal  Address,  1908 

.  A  plan,  carefully  worked  out  by  our  commission,  for  the 
better  support  of  our  superannuates,  their  widows  and 
orphans,  will  be  laid  before  you.  God  grant  that  it  may  prove 
to  be  a  method  so  wise,  acceptable  and  adapted  to  all  sections 
that  our  men  may  work  in  the  certainty  that  when  age  and 
illness  destroy  their  pastoral  activity  they  will  have  their 
necessities  met  by  a  grateful  Church. 


Episcopal  Address,  1912 

The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  and  its  active  Secre- 
tary have  been  loyal  to  the  system  outlined  in  the  new  law, 
and  the  outcome  of  their  work  is  exceedingly  gratifying.  No 
more  vigorous  campaign  has  ever  been  waged  in  any  interest 
of  the  Church  than  that  carried  forward  during  the  last  three 
years  in  behalf  of  the  Fund  for  Conference  Claimants. 

The  response  of  the  Church  has  been  prompt  and  generous. 
Including  the  Book  Concern  dividends,  almost  a  million 
dollars  were  given  for  the  year  1911,  and  a  total  of  two  and 
a  half  millions  distributed  in  the  three  working  years  since 
the  Board  was  organized — besides  $1,300,000  permanently 
invested.  We  give  thanks  to  God  for  this  auspicious  advance 
toward  the  full  discharge  of  a  sacred  obligation.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  know  that  the  basis  of  the  plan  is  sound  in  prin- 
ciple and  that  its  details  have  been  so  generally  approved 
by  the  Conferences.  We  have  reached  sixty  per  cent  of  all 
claims.  Now  for  full  payment !  With  this  assured,  our  faith- 
ful pastors  and  their  dependent  families  will  no  longer  dread 
retirement,  and  the  Church  will  no  more  be  ashamed  of  its 
ingratitude  to  the  men  who  have  given  their  lives  to  its 
service. 


VOICES  FROM  THE  TAST  303 

VOICES  SILENT  BUT  PEliSUASIVE 

^bougb  Beali,  ^fjej)  ^ttll  ^peab 

Bishop  ^Ieijkill 

The  superannuated  relation  is  not  a])palling.  I  like  the 
word  ^superannuated'  better  than  the  word  'non-effective.' 
It  is  a  good  a\[ethodist  word,  sanctioned  and  sanctified  by 
long  usage.  The  relation  is  an  honoral)le  one,  and  I  cannot 
see  why  anyone  entitled  to  enter  it  should  hesitate  on  the 
threshold  or  dread  the  relation  or  the  name  of  it.  It  is 
simply  the  recognition  of  the  facts  in  one's  life  which  have 
brought  him  up  to  it. 

One  of  the  weaknesses  of  our  superannuate  plan  appears 
to  be  in  reaching  the  needs  of  the  workers  who  break  down 
on  the  frontiers  or  who  superannuate  in  the  border  and 
weaker  Conferences.  There  seems  to  be  no  way  of  putting 
them  on  an  equality  with  their  brethren  who  work  in  more 
favorable  places  and  superannuate  in  larger  Conferences. 
The  question  of  the  support  of  our  Conference  Claimants 
will  never  be  settled  until  a  large  Connectional  Fund  is  raised, 
in  whose,  dividends  all  the  Conferences  share.  A  Church 
which  can  give  a  twenty  million  dollar  Thank  Offering  in 
three  years  and  which  contributed  $35,000,000  in  a  single 
year  can,  and  some  day  will,  make  adequate  provision  for  the 
comfortable  support  of  all  her  Veterans. 


Bishop  Warren 

The  Methodist  Church  was  the  first  institution  of  any 
kind  to  establish  a  pension  aid  for  its  Veterans.  It  was 
l)egun  by  x\sbury  as  the  Chartered  Fund.  This  Church  far 
surpasses  any  other  in  the  care  of  its  heroes,  and  thus  meets 
a  high  privilege  and  a  solemn  duty. 


Bishop  Waldex 

In  1880  I  stated  three  things :  First,  the  sacred  duty  of  the 
Church  to  furnish  the  Conference  Claimants  with  "a  comfort- 
able support";  second,  that  their  right  to  such  a  support  w^as 
as  just  as  that  of  the  Pastor,  the  Presiding  Elder,  or  the 
Bishop;  tliird,  that,  for  these  reasons,  tlie  Claimants  should 


304  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

have  a  pro  rata  sliare  of  the  amount  raised  for  pastoral  sup- 

])01't. 

It  is  not  a  new  cause;  it  antedates  the  Christmas  Confer- 
ence; and  the  Disciplinary  place  it  has  always  had  in  Annual 
Conference  matters  lias  held  it  close  to  the  preachers.  Be- 
lieving that  spiritual  and  secular  affairs  are  so  interrelated 
that  they  must  be  advanced  together,  I  seized  the  opportunity 
of  bringing  this  sadly  neglected  obligation  to  the  attention 
of  the  Preachers.  This  was  one  among  the  many  efforts  by 
which  the  Church  has  been  led  to  see  her  duty  and  to  improve 
the  methods  for  securing  an  ample  support  for  Conference 
(Claimants. 

Bishop  Smith 
No  cause  before  the  Church  is  more  worthy  or  more  urgent 
than  the  support  of  Conference  Claimants.  These  heroic 
men  and  women  have  done  work  for  the  Church  for  which 
they  can  never  be  fully  paid.  The  least  we  can  do  for  them 
is  to  give  them  a  comfortable  support  in  their  old  age.  To 
make  this  support  sure  no  method  is  so  good  as  that  of 
creating  permanent  funds  to  bring  a  regular  income  which 
can  always  be  depended  on. 


Bishop  McIntyre 

Who  said  there  is  no  aristocracy  in  Methodism?  I  say 
there  is !  Have  I  not  felt  that  wave  of  holy  emotion  that 
sweeps  over  the  Conference  when  the  warrior  of  many  battles 
unlaces  his  armor  saying,  "Bishop,  I  am  ready  to  retire.  Put 
me  on  the  last  list;  last  and  lest!" 

Yea,  with  wet  eyes  we  have  watched  you  go  from  the  front 
line  to  the  shade  of  the  trees,  and  have  said,  '^^ These  are  our 
heroes.    This  is  our  ^Hall  of  Fame.'  '^ 

As  sure  as  His  eternal  word  is  sure,  your  patience,  valor, 
faith  and  service  are  not  lost.  We  will  love  you  more  and 
more  as  we  fare  down  the  hill  together,  and  on  the  river's 
brim  will  shout  you  over  to  Him  who  loved  you  first  and  will 
love  you  last,  whose  greeting  will  be,  "Servant  of  God,  well 
done." 

I  am  deeply  interested  in  all  our  Church  work,  but  in  my 
thirty  years'  pastorate  this  was  always  first,  the  Retired 
Preachers'  Eund.    If  we  forget  them  God  will  forget  us. 


THE  EPISCOPAL  ROUND  EOBIN  305 


THE  EPISCOPAL  ROUND  ROBIN 

VOICES  PLEDGED  TO  THE  '^NEW  AND  BETTER 
DAY'^ 

Bishop  Vincent 

After  the  Bishops'  Conference  had  unanimously  endorsed 
the  plans  for  an  intensive,  general,  cooperative  campaign  in 
1915,  we  dropped  a  line  to  Bishop  Vincent  to  inform  him  as 
to  what  had  heen  done.    He  replied  as  follows : 

'^'Any  service  I  can  render  1  sliall  he  most  happy  to  offer. 
Am  ready  to  write  or  speak  as  you  direct." 


Bishop  Cranston 

God  gave  the  Gospel,  hut  it  was  brought  to  our  homes  and 
hearts  by  devoted,  self-denying  Messengers  of  His  grace. 
The  world  will  never  pay  its  debt  to  these  men,  but  the 
Church  will  not  repudiate  their  claim.  The  debt  is  just.  It 
is  long  overdue.  A  Jubilee  of  debt  paying!  Good  for  the 
General  Conference.  Let  us  make  1915  a  memorable  year 
for  the  Veterans. 

The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  and  its  energetic 
Secretary  well  deserve  the  thanks  of  the  entire  Church  for  the 
zeal  and  success  with  which  they  have  pressed  their  important 
trust  upon  the  attention  of  the  people.  The  Bishops  are  in 
position  to  know  the  degree  and  frequency  of  the  compulsory 
hardships  which  seem  to  be  inevitable  to  the  itinerant  Min- 
istry, and  to  realize  the  justice  of  the  claim  conceded  by  the 
Church  to  the  Retired  Minister.  It  is  cheering  news  indeed 
that  there  will  be  such  a  creditable  advance  over  the  distribu- 
tions of  previous  years.  Surely  the  Church  will  not  leave 
these  dependent  men  and  their  families  to  eke  out  an  exist- 
ence on  two  thirds  of  what  is  absolutely  necessary  for  their 
support.  With  every  honest  and  loyal  Methodist  this  cause 
will  plead  for  itself. 

Bishop  Moore 
I  did  my  best  to  leaven  the  Conference  with  the  Cause  of 
the  Superannuates.    0  hoAv  I  prayed  that  the  seed  might  fall 
into  good  ground !     ({od  bless  you  in  your  great  work  more 
and  more. 


306  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

Bishop  Hamilton 

You  know  my  interest  in  this  cause  and  it  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary for  me  to  add  a  word  to  what  you  liave  said  in  bringing 
the  matter  to  the  attention  of  our  pastors. 


Bishop  Berry 

The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  has  made  a  great 
beginning.  Even  its  most  sanguine  friends  scarcely  expected 
so  much  to  be  accomplished  so  soon.  Now  a  strong  pull  and 
a  pull  all  together  will  send  it  forging  ahead  in  glorious  style. 
It  is  a  cause  which  appeals  directly  to  every  Minister  who 
will  surely  be  its  ardent  friend.  The  laymen  are  showing 
deep  interest.  Some  are  giving  and  others  will  give  if  the 
cause  is  presented,  and  I  bespeak  cordial  and  united  support 
in  all  the  Conferences  now  under  my  care. 

By  action  of  the  Bishops,  you  have  right  of  way  this  com- 
ing year.  I  discover  quite  a  strong  revival  of  interest  in  Con- 
ference Claimants  and  their  claims.  You  are  certainly  push- 
ing a  vigorous  crusade,  and  it  will  tell. 


Bishop  McDowell 

The  Church  which  educates  its  ministry  and  then  discards 
it  or  casts  it  off  as  soon  as  old  age  comes  will  shortly  have  no 
ministry,  and  the  Church  will  be  gone. 

I  am  very  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  join  in  the  message  of 
good  cheer  to  the  Retired  Ministers  and  widows,  not  alone 
and  not  chiefly  because  of  the  increased  funds  distributed  to 
those  who  have  nobly  served  the  Church,  but  because  of  the 
increased  interest  in  the  servants  of  the  Church  which  this 
fund  represents.  If  the  Church  gave  its  Retired  Ministers 
more  money  and  less  love  at  the  same  time,  no  true  minister 
would  care  for  it;  for  after  all,  our  great  earthly  reward  is 
the  love  of  the  brethren ;  just  as  our  high  heavenly  reward  is 
the  love  of  our  Father. 

Bishop  Baspiford 

The  proper  care  of  the  veterans  of  the  nineteenth  century 
gives  the  best  assurance  of  recruits  for  the  still  more  tre- 
mendous battles  of  the  twentieth  century. 


THE   EPISCOPAL  EOUND   EOBUST  307 

Bishop  Buet 
One  of  the  most  inspiring  and  helpful  hours  in  all  my 
Conferences  is  when  I  call  the  Poll  of  the  Veterans.  I  invite 
them  to  the  front  and  ask  them  to  speak  in  order  that  their 
example  and  messages  may  kindle  enthusiasm  in  the  young 
men.  There  is  just  one  regret  present  on  every  such  occasion, 
and  that  is  the  little  we  have  to  give  to  these  heroic  men,  and 
to  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  have  been  called  up 
higher.  The  one  cause  that  the  Church  cannot  neglect  and 
maintain  its  self-respect  is  that  of  the  Veterans. 


Bishop  Wilson 
America  has  not  yet  recognized  its  obligation  to  the  early 
itinerants  who,  in  the  days  of  the  fathers  wrought  the  mighty 
elements  of  conscience  and  faith  into  the  fabric  of  our  na- 
tional life.  Those  heroic  itinerants  have  traveled  on  and 
passed  within  the  City.  But  it  must  never  be  said  that  the 
Methodism  of  the  Twentieth  Century  is  forgetful  of  them 
or  indifferent  to  the  obligation  which  the  present  sustains  to 
the  past.  It  is  not  too  much  to  ask  that  this  unpaid  debt  to 
the  fathers  be  transferred  to  their  successors,  and  that  this 
obligation  be  met,  as  we  meet  the  other  honest  claims  which 
are  upon  us.  The  service  which  these  men  of  God  have 
rendered  is  of  such  nature  that  there  are  no  equivalents  for 
it  in  monetary  values;  and  because  of  this  it  may  seem 
scarcely  proper  to  attempt  expression  of  indebtedness  in  such 
sordid  things  as  silver  and  gold.  The  fact  is  that  neither 
here  nor  elsewhere  is  it  possible  to  pay  for  love  and  sacrifice ; 
but  it  is  the  common  instinct  of  humanity  to  recognize  even 
debts  we  cannot  pay,  and,  as  nearly  as  we  may,  interpret 
sentiment  in  substantial  offerings.  It  will  be  conceded  per- 
haps that  from  the  beginning  the  acceptance  by  the  Church 
of  ministerial  service  involved  the  guarantee  of  fair  support 
to  those  who  served;  but  far  beyond  such  formal  debt — which 
some  might  deem  exj^licit  and  others  inferential — is  the  real 
claim  wdiich  every  honest  soul  in  Methodism  must  recognize, 
and  which  we  must  in  some  appropriate  way  try  to  meet  now 
that  we  are  called  to  consider  it  and  the  opportunity  for  suit- 
able expression  is  presented.  As  members  of  a  great  com- 
munion let  us  give  worthy  response  to  the  call  which  Meth- 


308  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

odism  is  sounding  througli  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants 
in  the  1915  Campaign. 


Bishop  Neely 

You  can  count  on  the  Bishops  for  leadership  or  anything 
else  they  can  do  to  forward  the  great  work  of  securing  an 
adequate  support  for  Conference  Claimants.  They  will  take 
any  burden  that  you  may  put  on  them  that  they  can  possibly 
carry.  The  churches  and  the  laymen  must  underwrite  the 
guarantee  to  a  comfortable  support  by  providing  sufficient 
permanent  investments  to  secure  a  dependable  pension. 


Bishop  Nuelsen^ 

The  Methodist  Veterans  of  Europe  sent  hearty  greetings  to 
their  Brothers  beloved  in  America.  There  are  fifty-five  Re- 
tired Methodist  Ministers  in  Europe,  scattered  over  the  Con- 
tinent from  the  land  of  the  midnight  sun  to  sunny  Italy. 
They  represent  eight  Annual  Conferences,  seven  nationalities, 
and  as  many  languages.  A  noble  band  of  workers  they  are. 
They  belong  to  the  first  generation  of  European  Methodists, 
who  laid  the  foundations.    They  were  pioneers. 

How  their  hearts  are  cheered,  when  at  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences I  present  to  them  your  affectionate  greetings;  not  so 
much  because  they  receive  a  dividend  from  America — as 
much  as  they  appreciate  and  need  financial  assistance — but  by 
the  assurance  that  the  heart  of  the  great  Church  is  beating 
with  theirs.  The  moral  effect  of  the  work  of  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  on  both  ministers  and  laymen  is  most 
excellent. 

It  must  be  exceedingly  gratifying  for  you  to  know  how  the 
Church  rallies  at  your  call.  May  God's  abundant  blessing  be 
upon  your  work  and  upon  the  noble  army  of  Veteran 
Preachers. 

Bishop  Quayle 

A  handshake  with  our  brethren  beloved  who  are  scarred 
and  wounded  and  ready  in  every  way  to  die — to  the  Retired 
Ministers  of  our  beloved  Methodism.     Their  name  is  sweet 


THE   EPISCOPAL  ROUND   ROBIN  309 

and  their  works  do  follow  them.  Retired  ministerial  support 
is  no  longer  benevolence  but  a  salary  for  which  let  us  thank 
God  devoutly.  As  regards  the  building  up  of  an  adequate 
fund  to  supplement  the  support  from  the  pastoral  charges, 
the  only  thing  to  be  said  is  that  the  most  we  can  do  is  the 
least  we  dare  to  do. 

May  the  heat  not  be  too  great  for  them  to  bear,  nor  the 
winter  too  cold,  because  of  the  summer  in  their  liearts. 


Bishop  Lewis 

The  obligation  created  by  that  abandon  to  financial  conse- 
quences characteristic  of  Methodist  preachers  in  the  execution 
of  the  task  assigned  to  them  by  the  Church ;  the  modest  needs, 
unsupplied,  of  the  worthiest  band  of  men  and  women  in  all 
the  land ;  God's  generous  bounties  distributed  among  a  grate- 
ful people  wliose  prosperity  is  in  large  measure  attributable 
to  faithful  pastors  and  teachers;  the  unanimous  voice  of  the 
General  Conference  inspiring,  and  Bishops  and  Secretary 
leading  the  Church  to  actually  do  that  which  every  member 
knows  to  be  just  and  generous,  are  the  signs  of  the  victory 
which  shall  be  ours  when  a  minimum  of  five  millions  of 
dollars  shall  be  placed  to  the  service  of  this  noble  company 
of  Retired  Methodist  Preachers,  their  wives  and  their  widows. 
I  am  anxious  to  do  everything  in  my  power  to  help  in  this 
worthy  cause.  I  believe  in  it  with  all  my  heart  and  sincerely 
thank  you  for  your  masterful  leadership. 


Bishop  Hughes 

I  have  heard  the  words  again  and  again,  but  no  Methodist 
clergyman  has  ever  yet  gone  to  the  poorhouse,  and  none  ever 
will.  To  spread  such  false  rumors  is  a  contemptible  injustice 
to  the  Church,  and  is  not  fair  to  its  future. 

I  am  writing  to  offer  a  very  hearty  second  to  the  appeal  that 
Dr.  Hingeley  makes  in  behalf  of  the  brethren  who  are  now 
superannuated.  I  urge  that  you  put  much  stress  on  the  Con- 
nectional  Fund.  The  final  and  practical  evidence  of  the  close 
brotherhood  of  our  Ministry,  as  well  as  our  appreciation  of 
that  brotherhood,  may  be  seen  in  our  attitude  toward  this 
offering. 


310  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

Bishop  Bristol 

I  am  in  close  sympathy  witli  the  work  now  })einf:^  done  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  General  Conference  for  the  Five 
Million  Dollars  asked  for  Conference  Claimants,  and  to  which 
the  Bishops  gave  their  unanimous  approval  last  spring.  I 
hope  that  the  Conferences  in  the  Omaha  Area  will  take  ad- 
vantage of  this  Church-wide  movement  to  provide  sufficiently 
for  the  Retired  Preachers,  widows  and  orphans. 


Bishop  Henderson 

What  a  great  year  1915  promises  to  be  in  the  history  of  the 
world !  Men  are  looking  forward  and  predicting  wonderful 
things  for  the  betterment  of  the  race,  because  of  the  possi- 
bilities which  they  see  locked  up  in  these  twelve  months.  We 
are  looking  for  Methodism  to  thrive,  of  course.  We  are  look- 
ing for  better  churches  and  better  preachers  and  better  mem- 
bers, and  we  are  looking  for  better  care  of  all  our  interests: 
our  churches,  our  people  and  our  preachers.  What  a  year  it 
will  be  for  the  Methodist  preacher  if  the  Church  hears  the  cry 
for  the  Five  Million  Dollar  investment  for  its  veterans !  It 
will  be  a  sad  year  for  many  a  man  who  has  labored  his  life 
away  for  the  Church  and  must  now  give  place  to  youth  and 
vigor;  but  what  a  difference  for  such  a  man  to  find  that  the 
Church  will  take  care  of  him,  as  he  has  tried  to  take  care  of  the 
Church ! 

Every  Methodist  owes  much  to  the  Methodist  preacher. 
Some  of  us  owe  all  that  we  are  religiously  to  some  preacher 
who  to-day  is  having  a  few  dollars  doled  out  to  him  each  year 
in  return  for  the  very  best  of  a  whole  life  given  to  the  Church. 
For  pride's  sake,  we  should  be  ashamed;  for  love's  sake,  we 
will  not  allow  it.  The  whole  Church  hears  the  call,  for  it 
comes  from  every  quarter  of  the  world-wide  field;  the  whole 
Church  must  heed  the  call,  for  these  are  her  own,  wdio  have 
helped  to  make  her  what  she  is. 


Bishop  Shepard 

The  cause  of  the  Veteran  has  always  seemed  to  me  a  sacred 
one.  Love  for  the  Master  and  the  brethren  unite  to  make  us 
faithful  to  the  men  who  laid  the  foundations. 


THE  EPISCOPAL  ROUND  ROBIN  311 

To  the  older  preachers  of  Methodism  the  truth  was  fire  in 
their  bones,  and  their  messages  burned  on  their  lips.  It  was, 
"Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel  in  that  schoolhouse, 
in  that  barn,  on  that  common,  two  or  three  times  a  day." 
They  were  flames  of  fire  and  voices  of  thunder  going  through 
the  land.  Their  history  is  a  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Modern 
Apostles;  a  history  of  the  campaign  of  the  Soldiers  of  the 
Cross. 

They  have  ceased  a  bit  now  because  the  silver  cord  is  slack- 
ened and  the  wheel  is  shaky  at  the  cistern;  but  they  remain 
with  us  a  while,  lest  we  forget.  While  they  remain  they  are 
the  sacred  wards  and  charge  of  the  Church  to  which  they  gave 
their  lives.  They  left  their  tentmaking,  their  nets,  every- 
thing, that  they  might  preach  everywhere,  almost  without 
money  and  altogether  without  price.  They  left  all  to  follow 
Christ  and  Paul  and  Asbury.  Like  their  Lord,  they  became 
poor  that  we  might  be  rich.  Common  gratitude,  and  above 
all.  Christian  love — love  because  of  work's  sake  if  we  are 
not  blessed  with  personal  acquaintance  with  them — bids  us 
remember  them.  Better,  as  sons  in  the  Gospel  we  should 
give  them  their  meed  of  reverence  and  the  kindly  care  due  to 
fathers. 


Bishop  Luccock 

Slowly  the  Church  is  awakening  to  a  worthy  appreciation 
of  the  work  of  Methodist  ministers  and  their  wives  in  build- 
ing up  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  They  have  been  faith- 
ful toilers  on  the  King's  highway.  They  built  themselves 
into  the  Church  and  into  the  Republic.  All  are  "numbered 
with  the  saints,"  and  not  a  few  of  them  deserve  to  be  enrolled 
among  the  "noble  army  of  martyrs." 

The  growing  solicitude  of  the  Church  for  the  welfare  of 
its  aging  ministers  is  beautiful  and  gracious.  Multitudes 
who,  in  manifold  ways,  have  entered  into  the  fruit  of  their 
labors,  give  to  this  fund  "not  grudgingly  nor  of  necessity," 
but  cheerfully  and  generously;  recognizing  the  care  of  the 
Veterans  to  be  a  privilege  as  well  as  an  obligation  of  love  and 
honor.  All  hail !  leaders  and  victors  of  the  conquering  host ! 
"The  Church  of  Christ  salutes  you!" 


313  THE  EFTIEED  MINISTER 

Bishop  McConnell 

Anxiety  over  material  affairs  can  easily  reach  a  point  where 
it  impairs  the  efficiency  of  the  preacher  of  the  truth.  Wise 
lawyers  have  a  saying  that  if  a  lawyer  begins  to  "watch  the 
ticker"  he  is  lost — that  is  to  say,  lost  as  a  lawyer,  though  he 
may  become  a  success  as  a  money-maker.  If  the  minister 
has  to  watch  the  ticker  or  any  other  indication  of  the  ups 
and  downs  of  money  values,  he  is  lost  as  a  preacher.  It  was 
this  universal  truth,  perceived  in  his  deep  understanding  of 
human  nature  that  made  Jesus  so  anxious  that  his  disciples 
should  not  be  troubled  by  material  concerns. 

I  congratulate  you  on  the  work  you  are  doing  for  the  Re- 
tired Preachers.  There  is  no  more  progressive  enterprise 
afoot  in  our  Church  to-day  than  the  effort  to  care  suitably 
for  the  Retired  Ministers.  The  movement  is  in  line  with 
the  wisest  social  thinking  as  well  as  with  the  best  Christian 
spirit.    May  you  have  the  very  largest  success. 

I  rejoice  in  your  success,  I  believe  in  your  work  not  only 
for  its  direct  aid  to  the  Preachers,  but  because  of  its  general 
social  influence.  The  Methodist  Church  ought  to  take  the 
lead  in  showing  to  other  institutions  and  to  the  community 
as  a  whole,  the  duty  of  caring  for  the  old  age  of  faithful  serv- 
ants who  in  their  prime  wrought  for  the  welfare  of  men. 


Bishop  Leete 

None  of  the  world's  aged  workers  ought  to  be  obliged  to 
pass  their  final  years  in  penury  or  in  fear  of  want. 

Because  I  believe  in  service  pensions  for  all  Veterans,  and 
because  I  know  the  great  sacrifices  required  of  men  in  the 
Christian  Ministry  I  hail  the  day  of  the  generous  support  of 
Retired  Preachers  and  their  families.  Teachers,  firemen, 
policemen,  soldiers  and  the  hosts  of  public  and  private  serv- 
ants whose  future  has  now  been  provided  for  and  made  secure 
are  not  to  be  considered  more  worthy  than  are  the  faithful 
souls  whose  toil  and  rigid  self-denial  laid  the  foundations  and 
built  the  walls  of  Christian  institutions,  created  the  moral 
atmosphere  in  which  alone  righteous  government  is  possible, 
and  contributed  largely  to  the  comforts  and  to  the  safety  of 
social  life.  How  great  a  debt  is  due  to  those  who  have  taught 
virtue,  have   led   advanced  movements,   have   comforted   the 


THE  EPISCOPAL  ROUND  ROBIN"  313 

sick  and  dying  and  have  brought  the  fact  of  God  into  the  lives 
of  men. 

The  leaders  of  the  Church  have  not  amassed  fortunes,  ac- 
quired high  stations  or  achieved  fame.  They  have  given  their 
all  for  Christ's  kingdom,  and  for  man's  good.  Now  care  for 
them — the  old,  the  weak,  the  gentle,  loving  pastors  and 
friends  of  other  days  as  well  as  of  the  present.  Light  up  their 
eyes  with  the  joy  of  just  recognition.  Smooth  out  the  furrows 
of  care  by  removing  altogether  the  dread  of  indigency. 
Straighten  bowed  forms  with  the  sense  of  self-respecting 
independence.  Then  add  frequent  tributes  of  appreciation 
and  of  aifection,  and  the  cup  of  the  forgotten,  the  burdened, 
the  sorrowing,  will  overflow  with  well  deserved  happiness. 


Bishop  Cooke 
In  pleading  for  Conference  Claimants  I  would  change 
the  emphasis  from  charity  to  justice.  It  is  not  so  much  the 
question  of  support  for  the  ministry  as  it  is  that  of  the  main- 
tenance of  organized  religion.  How  can  the  Church  become 
the  great  leader  of  humanity  and  set  the  tune  for  the  world 
to  sing  by  unless  she  has  preachers  who  can  pitch  the  key, 
and  can  command  the  respect  and  reverence  of  men  who  come 
out  of  educational  institutions  ?  We  should  put  the  question 
of  a  dependable  pension  for  Retired  Ministers  before  the 
people  until  they  grasp  the  thought  that  it  is  for  the  sake  of 
religion  itself  that  we  are  planning  this  great  thing. 


Bishop  Thikkield 
Tlie  report  of  the  increased  offerings  for  our  Conference 
Claimants  is  gratifying  and  inspiring.  When  one  coiitem- 
])lates  the  good  cheer,  comfort  and  help  brought  into  the 
lives  of  hundreds  of  our  noble  army  of  Retired  ^linisters,  it 
raises  a  shout  of  joy.  A  thousand  blessings  on  the  noble  work 
of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants. 


MISSIONARY  BISHOPS 
Bishop  Thoburn 
The  tendency  and  drift  of  the  times  is  in  tlie  direction  of 
•retired  lists"  for  faithful  workers,  both  within  and  outside 


311  THE  irETlKED  MINISTER 

the  Church.    It  is  an  instinct  of  the  age,  and  no  Church  can 
afford  to  ignore  it. 


Bishop  J.  E.  Robinson 

Right  glad  I  am  to  believe  that  the  efforts  of  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants  to  devise  more  liberal  things  for 
the  proper  support  of  the  Retired  Ministers  of  our  beloved 
Church  appear  certain  to  meet  with  encouraging  response. 
From  my  heart  I  say :  Not  a  mite  less  for  a  single  one  of  the 
Church  benevolences;  but  more,  vastly  more,  at  this  oppor- 
tune time,  to  make  it  possible  for  adequate  support  to  be 
secured  for  the  good  men  who  have  valiantly  borne  the 
burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  into  whose  successful  labors  we 
have  been  privileged  to  enter. 


Bishop  John  W.  Robinson 

He  has  a  right  to  it.  The  Church  acknowledges  that  right. 
He  needs  it.    The  Church  can  easily  supply  that  need. 

It  is  this  argument,  that  the  Retired  Minister  greatly  needs 
and  has  a  clear  right  to  a  modest  livelihood  in  his  old  age, 
and  that  the  Church  both  acknowledges  that  right  and  its 
ability  to  meet  it,  that  is  going  to  carry  the  campaign  for  a 
Jubilee  endowment  fund  for  Conference  Claimants  to  a  suc- 
cessful termination.  So  long  as  the  Church  is  true  to  its 
obligations  there  can  be  no  other  logical  outcome  to  the 
proposition. 

Bishop  Eveland 

Our  Nation  pensions  the  soldiers  who  risked  their  lives 
for  the  Flag.  Can  the  Church  do  less  for  the  men  who 
burn  up  their  lives  in  its  service?  This  generation  is  build- 
ing upon  the  foundations  laid  by  others.  It  must  not  leave 
these  Foundation  Builders  to  a  helpless  and  uncared  for 
old  age.  It  will  indeed  be  "A  Blot  upon  the  Escutcheon" 
of  Methodism  if  we  fail  to  make  full  and  adequate  provision 
for  the  Retired  Preachers.  May  divine  wisdom  and  strength 
be  given  to  you  to  carry  to  complete  success  the  great  Cam- 
paign upon  which  you  have  entered. 


THE  COXFEKEXCE  AXD  COXYEXTTOX   315 

THE  INAUGURATION  CONFERENCE 

Convention  Greetings 

"Washington,  D.  C,  Octobkii  28,  I'Jli. 
"To  THE  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  EnscoPAL  Church, 
"Dear  Brethren: 

"The  Convention  in  the  interests  of  R-etired  Ministers,  com- 
posed of  representatives  of  thirty-five  Annual  Conferences, 
now  in  session  at  the  Metropolitan  Memorial  Church,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  sends  you  greetings. 

"We  are  glad  of  this  opportunity  of  expressing  to  you  our 
thanks  for  the  leadership  furnished  by  you  in  planning  the 
1915  CAMPAIGX  for  raising  the  $5,000,000  ordered  by  the 
General  Conference,  and  our  confidence  in  the  success  which 
will  come  to  the  Campaign  conducted  under  Episcopal  leader- 
ship. 

"Your  fidelity  to  this  great  interest  has  brought  great  joy 
to  the  Eetired  Ministers,  w]io  rejoice  that  their  Chief  Pastors 
are  earnest  and  solicitous  in  their  behalf. 

"We  anticipate  with  pleasurable  expectation  the  great  meet- 
ing to  be  held  by  you  in  the  Metropolitan  Church  on  Thurs- 
day night  when  the 

Address  and  Appeal  to  the  Church, 
prepared  under  your  direction,  will  be  presented.     We  know 
that  the  Address  will  ring  true  to  this  Cause,  and  will  find 
a  glad  response  in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

"The  plan  suggested  at  your  Spring  Meeting,  of  each  Bishop 
organizing  the  work  in  his  own  Area,  gives  promise  of  large 
success ;  and  we  are  confident  that  in  every  Area  the  Ministers 
and  laymen  will  gladly  follow  the  leadership  of  the  resident 
Bishop. 

"Should  it  be  consistent  with  your  other  duties,  the  Con- 
vention will  be  highly  honored  l)y  your  presence  at  any  time 
during  the  session,  either  as  individuals  or  as  a  body." 

Invitation  to  the  Bishops 
At  the  morning  session  of  the  Bishops'   Conference  Dr. 
J.   B.   Hingeley,   Corresponding   Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
(Conference  Claimants,  extended  to  the  Bishops  the  following 
formal  invitation  to  the  Inauguration  Mass  Meeting: 


316  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

"AYashingtox,  D.  C,  October  29,  1914. 

"To   THE   CONFEREXCE   OF   BiSHOPS, 

"Dear  Brothers: 

"Three  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty  Retired  Meth- 
odist Ministers  will  leave  their  gardens  and  the  labors  by 
which  they  help  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door,  and  will 
assemble  at  the  Metropolitan  Memorial  Church,  in  the  Capital 
City  of  the  great  Nation  which  their  labors  have  made  secure, 
waiting  to  hear  from  your  lips  the  fulfillment  of  this  pledge 
made  by  you  last  April : 

''  'We  pledge  our  hearty  cooper-atioji  to  this  Campaign  in 
all  ways.' 

"Accompanying  them  will  come  three  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty- three  heroes'  widows,  with  faces  shining 
through  their  tears,  in  joyful  expectation  that  the  Church  is 
about  to  fulfill  the  promises  made  to  them  of  a  comfortable 
support,  while  they  are  waiting  triumphant  reunion  with 
those  whom  we  lovingly  call  ^Brothers/ 

"Xestling  in  their  arms,  or  seated  at  their  side,  will  be 
five  hundred  bereft  orphan  children,  for  whom  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  stands  as  father  of  the  Fatherless/ 

"All  these  await  you  in  the  church  where  the  great  Meth- 
odist martyr,  President  McKinley,  worshiped,  to  listen  to 
your  solemn  pledge  of  leadership  in  their  Cause. 

"AYe  call  these  heroes  of  the  Cross  ^Y^eterans.'  They  long 
since  learned  to  follow  where  the  Bishops  lead,  and  they 
know  what  it  means  when  the  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  approve  the  ^purpose  to  raise  Five  Million  Dol- 
lars for  this  worthy  Cause  during  this  quadrennium !' 

"They  know  what  to  expect  when  you  assign  a  McDowell, 
a  Berry  and  a  Quayle  to  prepare  an 

Address  and  Appeal  to  the  Church  ; 
and  they  have  not  forgotten  the  many  messages  that  the 
Church  has  already  received  from  your  pens,  nor  the  militant 
words  of  your  senior  Bishop,  that  though 

"'The  world  will  never  repay  its  debt  to  these  men,  the 
Church  will  not  repudiate  their  claim.' 

"To  the  holy  fellowship  of  these  seven  thousand  Confer- 
ence Claimants,  I  invite  you  to-night.  They  are  represented 
by  the  leaders  of  their  Cause  in  every  Conference  east  of 


THE  PEESIDENT'S  LETTER  317 

Illinois,  together  with  some  from  the  Pacific  coast.  Never 
before  were  you  honored  with  such  an  invitation.  The  whole 
Church  awaits  you,  and  as  it  listens  to  the  Roll  Call  of  the 
Bishops,  will  hear  also  the  responses  of  those  whose  words 
are  preserved  in  the  literature  of  this  great  Cause :  Mclntyre, 
AValden,  Warren,  Bowman,  Joyce,  Merrill — would  you  know 
the  others,  call  the  Roll  of  all  who  have  gone — who  have 
guided  legislation,  inspired  enthusiasm  and  brought  joy  to 
generations  of  Retired  Preachers.  Four  million  Methodists 
will  scan  to-morrow's  papers  to  read  your  utterance,  and  the 
entire  Christian  world,  already  attracted  by  the  purpose  of 
this  great  Convention  in  the  Capital  City,  will  take  new 
courage  by  the  emphasis  you  will  give  to  the  daily  increasing 
interest  in  pensions  for  the  aged. 

"The  laymen  of  the  Church,  who  at  Indianapolis  called  this 
^^ 'The  Supreme  Claim  of  the  Veteran  Preachers' 
await  your  word  and  leadership  in  this  great  movement,  which 
to-day  is  the  common  task  of  the  entire  Christian  Church. 

"Your  Address  and  Appeal  to  the  Church  will  bring  the 
benediction  of  Christly  joy  to  six  thousand  Claimants'  homes, 
and  to  almost  two-score  thousand  Methodist  parsonages. 

"The  Church  awaits  your  word,  and  prays  that  in  deliver- 
ing this  Message  the  divine  inspiration  may  make  you 
Prophets  of  the  Lord. 

"Truly  yours,  in  the  name  of  all  Veteran  Preachers, 

"JoSEril  B.  HlXGELEY." 


The  White  House,  Washington. 

October  1,  1914. 
My  Dear  Doctor  Hingeley  : 

I  have  your  letter  of  September  twenty-second  and  1  hope 
that  you  will  convey  my  greetings  to  those  assembled  at  the 
important  meeting  you  are  planning  for  the  twenty-seventh, 
twenty-eighth  and  twenty-ninth  of  October. 

I  sincerely  hope  that  the  cause  of  justice  and  benevolence 
they  will  meet  to  consider  will  be  carried  forward  with  the 
greatest  success. 

Sincerely  yours, 

WooDROW  Wilson. 


318  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

Washington,  D.  C,  October  27,  WU. 
WooDROw    Wilson,    President    of    the    United    States, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Honored  Sir: 

Your  gracious  letter  of  Octol)cr  first  to  the  National  Con- 
vention in  the  interests  of  Conference  Claimants  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  was  read  before  that  body  this  after- 
noon. It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  convey  to  you  the  following 
resolution  which  was  unanimously  adopted  by  that  body: 

Resolved,  That  the  Washington  Convention  in  the  interests 
of  Retired  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  have  heard  with  great 
pleasure  the  greetings  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
We  gratefully  record  our  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  this 
Christian  Statesman  has  found  time  in  the  midst  of  cares  and 
responsibilities,  greatly  increased  by  existing  conditions,  to 
recognize  the  "Cause  of  Justice  and  Benevolence,"  which  we 
are  meeting  to  consider,  and  to  express  the  hope  that  the 
Cause  will  be  "carried  forward  with  the  greatest  success." 
We  extend  to  the  President  our  thanks  for  his  communication, 
and  we  devoutly  pray  that  his  strength  may  be  sufficient  for 
his  task. 

B-esolved,  That  the  secretary  of  the  Convention  be  directed 
to  send  a  copy  of  this  Resolution  to  the  President. 

Sincerely  yours,         M.  E.  Snyder,  Secretary. 


EPISCOPAL  LEADERSHIP 

Joint  Meeting  op  the  Conference  and  Convention 
Washington,  D.  C,  October  29,  1914. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  Bishops  met  at  the  Metropolitan 
Memorial  Church,  Bishop  Earl  Cranston,  Senior  Bishop,  pre- 
siding. 

After  prayer  by  Bishop  Burt,  Bishop  Cranston  spoke  as 
follows  concerning  the  Greetings  from  President  Wilson : 

The  strength  of  such  utterances  as  we  have  just  heard  lies 
in  what  is  back  of  them.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  words 
of  this  letter  from  the  President  of  the  United  States  represent 
deep  convictions,  based  on  memories  of  the  past;  memories 
of  his  preacher  father  and  the  parsonage  home,  and  of  the 
years  recalled  by  every  preacher's  son  and  daughter  when  the 
table  was  sometimes  scantily  laid,  and  luxuries  were  unknown 


BISHOPS'  ADDRESS  AND  APPEAL  319 

because  of  meager  income.  I  believe  that  we  all  feel  here  to- 
night that  we  have  in  the  President  of  the  United  States  a 
Christian  gentleman  as  well  as  a  Christian  statesman,  whose 
every  word  has  been  well  considered  from  the  standpoint  of 
a  devout  believer  in  God  and  Plis  truth,  and  in  the  obligations 
of  the  world  to  the  men  who  proclaim  the  message  of  grace. 

Bishops'  xVddress  and  Appeal 

Bishop  Cranston  introduced  Bishop  McDowell,  saying: 

Some  time  ago  in  anticipation  of  this  Convention  and  of 
this  hour  which  brings  the  deliberations  of  this  Convention 
to  their  culmination,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the 
Bishops  to  prepare  an  Episcopal  Address  and  Appeal  to  the 
Church  in  behalf  of  Conference  Claimants,  The  committee 
consisting  of  Bishops  McDowell,  Berry  and  Quayle  has  pre- 
pared the  Address  and  Appeal  to  the  Church,  and  it  will  now 
be  read  by  Bishop  McDowell. 

Bishop   McDowell   made   the   following   statement: 

The  document  which  I  now  read  was  unanimously  adopted 
by  the  Board  of  Bishops  in  their  session  to-day.  They  put 
on  it  not  only  their  signatures,  but  the  entire  weight  of  their 
personal  interest  and  official  power.     (See  page  295.) 

The  Eev.  Joseph  B.  Hingeley,  Corresponding  Secretary  of 
the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  formally  accepted  the 
Address  in  the  name  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as 
follows : 

Bishop  Cranston-,  Bishop  McDowell  and  Brothers  of 
THE  Episcopacy  :  The  spirit  of  your  Address  and  Appeal  to 
the  Church  represents  the  spirit  of  the  great  Convention 
which  has  just  closed.  I  assure  you  that  your  message  means 
a  great  deal  to  these  representatives  of  forty  Conferences  who 
have  spent  three  days  considering  the  problem  of  an  adequate 
support  for  Retired  Methodist  Ministers.  It  means  a  great 
deal  to  all  Methodist  preachers  and  Methodist  people  to 
know  that  the  trained,  official,  normal  leadership  of  the 
Church  is  directing  this  great  enterprise. 

It  is  therefore  with  great  personal  joy  that  we  receive  your 
message,  which  will  go  out  from  this  historic  Church  to  all 
the  churches  and  will  bring  gladness  and  confidence  into 
Methodist  parsonages  and  Methodist  homes  everywhere. 
Three  thousand  two  hundred  Retired  Ministers,  three  thou- 


320  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

sand  four  hundred  widows  of  brethren  whom  we  have  loved, 
and  five  hundred  of  their  orphan  children  will  rejoice  in  the 
fact  that  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  has  been  launched  by  such 
an  effective  deliverance. 

Ever  since  last  spring  when  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  was  first 
presented  to  your  Board  until  this  moment,  every  request 
that  we,  officially  representing  this  connectional  interest,  have 
made  to  any  or  all  of  you  has  been  granted,  with  mani- 
fest delight  to  you,  as  well  as  to  the  great  advancement  of  the 
cause.  In  the  name  of  these  brethren  assembled  and  of  a 
loyal  Church,  we  accept  this  deliverance,  and  we  will  all  seek 
to  show,  as  far  as  we  can,  that  since  you  so  well  know  how  to 
lead,  we  know  equally  well  how  to  follow.  The  General 
Conference  asked  for  $5,000,000,  but  the  1915  CAMPAIGN 
has  taken  such  strong  hold  on  the  people  that  the  Annual 
Conferences  are  projecting  Annual  Conference  campaigns 
amounting  to  $10,000,000.  The  Spring  Conferences  have  not 
yet  determined  the  amount  for  which  they  will  ask,  but  it  is 
evident  that  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  will  not  be  a  campaign 
for  $5,000,000,  nor  for  $10,000,000,  but  for  a  good  round  $12,- 
000,000  or  more,  the  investment  needed  at  five  per  cent  inter- 
est to  provide  the  $500,000  that  Bishop  McDowell  has  shown 
you  is  still  needed  in  order  to  pay  all  claims  in  full.  Under 
the  leadership  of  Christ's  modern  disciples,  there  will  be  the 
miracle  of  multiplying  the  dollars,  greater  even  than  that 
of  multiplying  the  loaves  and  fishes — yet  it  will  be  a  multi- 
plying of  the  loaves  of  divine  bounty  for  the  aged,  the  widow 
and  the  orphan. 

Brethren  of  the  convention,  let  us  rejoice  that  we  have  a 
leadership  which,  under  God,  is  equal  to  the  task. 

Bishop  Berry  most  earnestly  and  positively  committed  him- 
self, his  brethren,  the  Bishops,  and  all  the  churches,  to  an 
intensive,  triumphant  Campaign.     (See  page  325.) 

Bishop  Quayle  in  an  inimitable  way  aroused  the  enthu- 
siasm and  strengthened  the  determination  of  the  assembled 
delegates  and  the  visitors.     (Page  13.) 

Bishop  McConnell  emphasized  the  meaning  of  such  a  Cam- 
paign from  the  viewpoint  of  tlie  largest  efficiency.    (Page  39.) 

The  Senior  Bishop,  Earl  Cranston,  addressed  the  Conven- 
tion pledging  Episcopal  leadership  and  cooperation.  (l*age 
321.) 


INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

BUILDING  ON  A  GOOD 
FOUNDATION 

BISHOP  EARL  CRANSTON,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


Every  Annual  Conference  here  represented  has  its  own 
plan.  The  methods  are  not  uniform  but  all  have  the  same 
fundamental  purpose;  the  gathering  of  funds  which  shall  be 
safely  invested,  and  out  of  which  there  will  be  an  annual 
revenue  to  supplement  the  annual  offerings  of  the  pastoral 
charges.  I  think  the  outlook  for  this  general  1915  CAM- 
PAIGN is  better  than  that  of  any  other  church-wide  under- 
taking of  recent  years,  not  simply  because  we  are  going  about 
the  raising  of  a  creditable  sum  of  money  for  a  great  object — 
that  might  be  true  of  many  enterprises,  and  it  has  been  true 
many  times — but  because  we  are  now  earnestly  going  about 
the  husiness  of  being  honest.  It  has  been  a  constant  reflec- 
tion on  the  Church  that  it  has  not  dealt  honestly  with  its 
Ministry.  Every  man  here  who  has  been  a  Preacher  for  forty 
years  has  suffered  by  unpaid  balances,  to  be  charged  to  profit 
and  loss  when  he  left  the  parish  where  the  delinquency  was 
made.     Somebody  owes  this. 

As  we  are  starting  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  let  us  remember 
that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  provide  annually  the  sum 
of  one  million  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  what  we 
call  a  "comfortable  support^^  for  our  Retired  Ministers.  Be- 
tween the  sum  actually  available  to-day  and  that  required 
even  for  this  scant  support  there  is  the  startling  margin  of 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Who  shall  carry  that  large 
deficit?  That  is  the  question  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  I  see  a  long  line  of  3,200  Retired  Ministers,  old 
men,  broken  men,  men  with  infirm  health,  educated  men, 
men  trained  away  from  the  ordinary  lines  of  self-help  in 
order  that  they  might  serve  the  Church;  and  3,500  women, 
the  widows  of  such  men;  and  500  of  their  orphan  children 
standing  before  the  prosperous  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

321 


322  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

in  this  long  drawn  out  line — 7,000  of  them  in  all.  Will  you 
not  try  in  j^athetic  loyalty  to  hold  these  figures  in  mind: 
7,000  claimants;  and  $1,100,000  paid  to  redeem  the  Church's 
pledge  of  $1,600,000;  on  which  in  these  days  of  high  prices 
it  is  paying  them  only  sixty-five  cents  on  the  dollar.  Some 
of  these  once  loved  pastors  are  going  cold  this  winter  for 
want  of  a  better  overcoat;  some  are  hardly  presentable  in  the 
pulpits  of  the  churches  to  which  they  are  attached;  some  are 
able  to  preach  as  well  as  ever  in  their  lives,  and  yet  have  been 
prematurely  sent  to  retirement  by  the  demand  of  the  churches 
for  young  preachers.  Surely  they  deserve  at  least  a  little 
comfort  till  God  shall  call  them  home. 

The  Honor  of  the  Church 

The  question  who  shall  hold  together  these  two  ends  of 
the  problem — the  honor  of  the  Church  and  the  unpaid  annual 
balance  of  half  a  million  dollars — is  to  be  now  answered.  Who 
shall  pay  this  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year?  This 
1915  CAMPAIGN  for  $10,000,000  says  that  the  Church  shall 
pay  it.  The  records  of  the  past  show  that  the  old  men  and 
widows  and  orphans  have  been  paying  it.  The  enlightened 
conscience  of  Methodism  declares  that  they  shall  not  continue 
to  pay  it  by  suffering  penury  and  want.  If  our  thrifty  people 
were  exposed  to  want,  and  denied  the  blessings  which  they  had 
given  to  thousands,  they  would  quickly  find  reasons  for  pledg- 
ing that  added  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  annual  income 
— 5  per  cent  on  $10,000,000 — inside  of  six  months;  and  no- 
body would  be  the  poorer.  If  the  whole  Church,  and  the  Dis- 
trict Superintendents  and  even  one  thousand  of  the  Pastors  of 
Methodism  had  been  here  and  had  received  the  impressions 
that  have  been  made  on  our  minds,  and  had  caught  the  spirit 
that  has  come  upon  us  at  this  Convention,  the  1915  CAM- 
PAIGN would  be  an  easy  as  well  as  a  glorious  task. 

But  let  me  tell  you  what  we  already  have ;  our  new  financial 
plan  as  adopted  by  the  General  Conference  and  the  churches, 
gives  promise  of  a  larger  annual  offering  from  the  pastoral 
charges.  It  now  seems  assured  that  the  apportionment  for 
worn-out  preachers,  as  it  goes  out  in  the  annual  askings  of 
the  churches,  will  be  larger  and  more  fully  met  than  it  ever 
has  been.  Next  we  have  the  growing  revenue  from  our  great 
Publishing  House,  which  was  founded  by  the  early  itinerants; 


THE  BISHOPS'  PLEDGE  3^3 

and  the  increasing  dividends  of  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  which  has  already  paid  $175,000  to  help  where 
help  is  most  needed.  With  these  resources  at  hand  and  with 
a  rapid,  urgent,  compelling  campaign  this  program  of  honor 
and  honesty  now  sent  forth  will  be  gloriously  realized  in  1915. 

The  Bishops'  Pledge 

Wing  the  words  of  our  Appeal  with  your  prayers,  and 
wherever  you  speak  let  it  be  known  that  1915  is  the  Juhilee 
Year  for  the  long-neglected  Eetired  Ministers  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  and  those  dependent  upon  us  on  their 
account.  God  bless  you,  brethren,  and  give  you  the  old  time 
Methodist  "liberty"  wherever  you  speak  on  this  great  cause. 

I  think  it  is  fortunate  that  the  Bishops  can  plead  this 
cause  without  the  handicap  of  seeming  to  beg  for  themselves. 
We  have  no  complaint  to  make.  The  Church  takes  good  care 
of  us.  The  Bishops  are  free  to  plead  for  their  brethren.  0, 
that  every  Eetired  Minister  might  feel  as  restful  for  to- 
morrow as  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  made  it  pos- 
sible for  her  Bishops  to  feel.  And  for  that  very  reason  we 
ought  to  be  all  the  more  earnest,  insistent  and  persistent  in 
making  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  a  complete  success. 

Next  to  the  Bishops,  who  stand  as  the  natural  leaders  of 
the  forces  of  Methodism,  ought  to  be  the  laymen,  the  pos- 
sessors of  all  the  opportunities  this  wonderful  age  and  this 
opulent  land  are  giving  to  men  of  brave  heart  and  intelligent 
enterprise.  For  the  sake  of  Christ  and  the  Church  these 
Ministers  surrendered  all  these  opportunities  to  them. 
Brethren  of  the  laity,  think  of  that !  Do  not  make  the 
Preachers  plead  for  themselves.  I  beseech  you,  do  not  lay 
the  burdens  of  the  campaign  on  them;  but  let  the  words  of 
the  Bishops,  and  the  awakened  conscience  and  zeal  of  the  lay- 
men make  good  the  purpose  of  the  Church  to  meet  its  honest 
obligations  to  the  men  who  earned  the  promised  support  long, 
long  ago,  and  too  long  have  waited  the  day  of  payment. 


O.  H.  HORTON, 

Vice-President 

J.  B.   HiNGELEY, 

Corresponding  Secretary 

E.  C.  Clemans, 
Field  Representative 


OFFICERS  BOARD  OF 

CONFERENCE 

CLAIMANTS 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH 


Bishop  W.  F.  McDowell, 
President 


J.  W.  Van  Cleve, 

Second  Vice-President 
Marvin  Campbell, 

Treasurer 
J.  A.  MuLFINGER, 

Recording  Secretary 


A  CONQUERING 
CAMPAIGN 

BISHOP  JOSEPH  F.  BERRY,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


Dear  Brethren  :  This  is  not  the  time  to  talk  about  ways 
and  means.  I  am  in  the  presence  of  experts.  You  have 
discussed  already  the  practical  phases  of  this  1915  CAM- 
PAIGN. All  that  remains  for  us  to  do  to-night  is  to  congrat- 
ulate you  on  the  success  of  your  Convention,  and  to  exhort 
you  earnestly  to  go  out  from  this  place  to  put  into  practice 
the  splendid  ideals  that  you  have  lifted  up,  and  the  compre- 
hensive and  inspiring  plans  which  you  have  formed. 

A  Denominational  Movement 

I  am  very  glad  that  this  is  to  be  a  great  denominational 
movement.  It  is  more  denominational  than  our  evangelistic 
campaigns,  for  in  them  we  go  to  men  and  women  and  urge 
them  to  give  up  sinful  lives  and  serve  Jesus  Christ;  and  we 
make  church  affiliations  and  church  loyalty  a  secondary  con- 
sideration, emphasizing  loyalty  to  Jesus  and  surrender  to 
him;  and  that  is  not  essentially  in  any  strict  sense  a  de- 
nominational crusade.  But  the  work  to  which  you  have 
put  your  hands  is  distinctively  and  enthusiastically  a  great 
denominational  movement  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
I  am  somewhat  of  a  Methodist,  and  I  want  the  1915  CAM- 
PAIGN to  succeed  because  it  represents  a  Methodist  move- 
ment. Every  day  I  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  God  has  given  me 
a  place  in  this  communion  and  I  thank  Him  that  our  great 
Church  is  in  these  days  measuring  up  so  well  to  its  responsi- 
bility; and  coming  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  in  these  stra- 
tegic times  when  so  much  is  being  crowded  into  short  spaces, 
and  when  the  opportunities  are  so  golden.  I  make  no  apology 
whatever  for  the  fact  that  I  am  intensely  denominational. 
The  fact  is  that  the  man  who  is  not  intensely  in  love  with  a 
denomination  is  of  very  little  use  in  the  Church  or  the  world. 

325 


32G  THE  EETIBED  MINISTER 

The  man  who  believes  that  one  Church  is  just  as  good  as 
another  Church,  and  that  it  is  ahnost  sinful  to  emphasize 
denominationalism,  has  very  little  sympathy  in  my  heart.  I 
feel  like  a  little  girl  who,  with  a  little  Catholic  companion, 
visited  a  Sisters'  hospital.  The  Sister  in  charge  took  them 
about  the  place,  showing  them  the  private  and  public  wards 
and  the  operating  room,  while  the  little  girls  looked  around 
in  open-eyed  wonder.  As  they  were  leaving  the  Sister  said, 
"My  little  dear,  I  have  been  wondering  what  Church  you 
belong  to,"  and  the  Catholic  girl  said,  "I  belong  to  the 
Catholic  Church."  "Thank  God  for  that!"  said  the  sister. 
Then  she  asked  the  other,  "And  what  Church  do  you  belong 
to?"  And  the  little  Methodist  girl  proudly  answered,  "I 
belong  to  the  Methodist  Church — and  thank  God  for  that !" 
That  is'the  way  I  feel;  and  if  we  are  going  to  have  a  great 
Campaign,  and  if  it  is  to  be  brought  to  a  successful  consum- 
mation, it  must  be  a  great  denominational  movement,  that 
will  take  hold  of  the  heart  of  Methodism  and  arouse  a  mighty 
enthusiasm  to  do  the  work  promptly  and  well. 

An  Opportune  Movement 

The  movement  is  most  opportune.  It  is  a  good  time  to 
strike.  We  have  not  had  so  good  time  as  this  for  generations. 
The  educational  campaign  which  has  been  carried  on  con- 
cerning our  obligation  to  pay  to  God  what  we  owe  Him  in 
a  systematic  way  is  already  bearing  much  fruit.  If  I  had 
the  authority  I  would  have  an  educational  bureau  in  con- 
nection with  every  benevolent  cause  in  the  Church  which 
would  be  educating  the  membership,  rich  and  poor,  con- 
cerning the  obligation  and  opportunity  of  systematic  and 
proportionate  paying  into  the  treasury  of  God.  If  we  could 
have  that  for  even  one  year  the  results  would  make  earth  and 
heaven  rejoice.  If  our  people  would  pay  one  tenth  into  the 
treasury  of  God,  how  every  treasury  of  every  benevolent 
board,  and  of  this  institution  of  yours  would  overflow.  The 
problem  would  be,  how  to  spend  properly  the  money  that  is 
rolling  in  from  the  generous  Church. 

These  are  great  evangelistic  times?  Everybody  is  talking 
about  religion.  Last  Sunday  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  we 
had  eight  hundred  laymen  in  the  pulpit  exhorting  sinners  to 
forsake  sin  and  accept  the  Saviour  of  the  world.     Does  that 


A  CONQUEEIXG  CAMPAIGN"  327 

mean  anything?  It  is  in  the  air,  it  is  everywhere.  People 
are  talking  about  religion.  I  was  in  a  banquet  of  four  hun- 
dred business  men  a  few  weeks  ago,  and  expected  that  the 
men  would  talk  politics  or  business,  but  they  spent  the  eve- 
ning talking  religion.  Have  you  observed  how  during  the  last 
two  years  the  great  daily  newspapers  have  allied  themselves 
with  the  Christian  forces  of  the  Republic  and  are  specifically 
doing  the  work  of  evangelism?  In  Philadelphia  when  the 
preachers  could  not  agree  as  to  holding  the  Sunday  meetings, 
a  great  newspaper,  the  North  American,  chartered  a  great 
special  train,  and  took  two  hundred  and  fifty  pastors  to 
Scranton  to  see  Billy  at  work,  and  entertained  them  there  for 
three  days.  On  the  next  Monday  morning  the  preachers' 
meetings  by  a  practically  unanimous  vote — Baptists,  Presby- 
terians, Disciples,  Methodists  and  Protestant  Episcopalians 
— invited  him  to  come,  and  he  is  coming.  If,  under  God, 
Mr.  Sunday  leads  thousands  of  people  into  the  churches  of 
Philadelphia,  to  wdiom  shall  be  given  the  credit?  To  the 
publisher  of  that  metropolitan  daily  newspaper  who  had  the 
courage  and  Christian  sagacity  to  insist  that  the  evangelist 
be  invited.  Evangelism  is  in  the  air.  Our  God  is  marching 
on.  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  becoming  the  kingdoms 
of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ;  and  it  seems  to  me.  Dr. 
Hingeley,  that  you  must  have  been  divinely  guided,  just  at 
this  time  to  launch  upon  the  Nation  and  the  Church  this 
great  Campaign.  The  revival  of  systematic  giving  and  the 
revival  of  evangelism  will  be  the  foundation  for  this  forward 
movement  which  is  to  win  in  glorious  fashion. 

All  hail  to  the  Ten  Million  Dollar  Campaign!  If  it  had 
been  a  campaign  for  two  and  a  half  millions  it  would  not 
have  interested  me  so  much.  But  this  Church  of  ours  is  a 
great  Church,  and  we  have  no  business  attempting  small 
things.  This  big  Church  ought  to  do  big  things;  and  so  we 
are  going  out  in  the  name  of  God  to  do  a  great  thing  for 
our  Veterans.  May  God  speed  the  day  when  the  Hallelujah 
Chorus  will  sound  out  in  commemoration  of  the  fact  that  the 
1915  CAMPAIGN  has  been  a  magnificent  success;  and  that 
everywhere  it  shall  be  known  that  in  the  treasury  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  there  are  millions  perpetually 
invested  for  the  support  of  the  Veteran  Ministry. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  Joseph  F.  Berry. 


ADDITIONAL  MEMBERS  BOARD  OF  CONFERENCE  CLAIMANTS 
B.  F.  Adams  J.  E.  Andrus  C.  W.  Baldwin 

G.  W.  Brown  E.  C.  E.  Dorion 

James  Hamilton  M.  S.  Marble 

Perry  Millai^  O.  P.  Miller  J.  O.  Pew 


WE  SHALL  WIN 

BISHOP  WM.  F.  McDowell,  d.d.,  ll.d. 

President  Board  of  Conference  Claimants 


I  could  not  let  the  first  day  of  this  Convention  go  hy  with- 
out coming  to  put  my  own  heart  into  it  at  its  very  beginning, 
and  to  assure  you,  if  you  need  any  assurance,  of  my  utmost 
sympathy  with  the  plans  that  are  proposed  by  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  and  by  the  Annual  Conferences  for 
this  magnificent  thing  that  we  are  going  to  do. 

After  I  came  into  the  pulpit  to-night  and  found  my  old 
and  very  dear  friend,  Dr.  Edmund  M.  Mills,  presiding,  there 
came  to  my  mind  a  happy  coincidence.  I  venture  to  say  that 
in  1899  Dr.  Mills  was  put  in  charge  of  the  most  impossible, 
in  many  respects  the  most  hopeless  and  utterly  inconceivable 
kind  of  a  proposition  that  was  ever  assigned  to  anybody  by 
our  Church ;  the  task  of  raising  the  Twentieth  Century  Thank 
Offering  of  twenty  million  dollars.  At  the  close  of  his  first 
speech,  with  some  measure  of  enthusiasm,  he  expressed  con- 
fidence that  the  Church  would  do  it.  Think  of  a  man  begin- 
ning a  job  with  any  idea  that  it  is  going  to  be  done.  That  is 
the  way  he  did:  he  began  with  the  idea  that  it  was  going  to 
be  done  before  he  quit.  When  he  had  finished  his  speech  and 
stepped  down  with  the  feeling  that  a  man  has  after  he  has 
made  his  first  speech  for  the  first  time,  a  venerable  Preacher 
said  to  him,  "I  am  glad  that  the  Church  has  a  man  like  you." 
Of  course  that  made  Dr.  Mills  feel  good.  "I  am  so  glad," 
continued  this  good  man,  "that  the  Church  has  a  man  who 
knows  so  little  that  he  hopes  so  much." 

Now,  Dr.  Hingeley,  here  are  you  two  men  on  the  platform, 
and  here  am  I,  having  been  related  to  Dr.  Mills  in  that  move- 
ment, and  being  related  to  you  in  this.  You  come  not  to  that 
kind  of  a  situation.  You  are  a  man  who,  partly  by  reason  of 
what  this  other  man  helped  to  accomplish,  can  go  on  with  a 
kind  of  confidence  that  is  partly  born  of  the  success  of  that 

329 


330  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

great  movement.  And,  please  God,  you  do  not  now  have  to 
know  so  little  that  you  may  hope  so  much;  you  can  hope  so 
much  now  because  you  hnotv  so  much. 

This  is  a  great  thing  we  are  at.  Every  once  in  a  while  we 
get  stirred  up  in  our  minds  because  we  have  so  many  things 
going,  and  we  say  that  we  cannot  have  a  Conference  Claimants' 
campaign  because  we  have  an  educational  campaign;  and  we 
cannot  have  an  educational  campaign  because  we  have  a  hos- 
pital campaign;  and  we  cannot  have  a  hospital  campaign  be- 
cause we  have  a  church  building  campaign;  and  we  cannot 
have  a  church  building  campaign  because  we  have  a  foreign 
missionary  campaign;  and  we  cannot  have  a  foreign  mis- 
sionary campaign  because  we  have  a  Freedmen's  Aid  cam- 
paign. But  that  is  what  makes  it  worth  while  to  be  a  Meth- 
odist. 

I  am  getting  to  be  one  of  the  older  Bishops  in  the  Church, 
and  therefore  I  am  supposed  to  be  fairly  and  reasonably  loyal, 
but  I  make  this  declaration  of  principle  and  faith  to  you  to- 
night, that  if  I  knew  a  Church  that  had  in  its  heart  more  big 
things  to  do  for  Christ's  kingdom,  and  more  determination  to 
do  them,  and  more  belief  that  it  could  do  them  than  the  Meth- 
odist Church  has,  I  would  go  out  and  get  into  that  Church. 
For  the  joy  of  being  a  Methodist  is  that  the  Methodist  Church 
has  so  many  big  things  that  it  can  do  and  wants  to  do.  In- 
stead of  worrying  because  we  are  going  to  start  another  great 
campaign  let  us  be  proud  of  the  Church  that  has  the  courage, 
with  everything  else  going  on,  to  say  "We  will  do  this."  For 
after  all  one  of  the  tests  of  a  Church  is  not  the  limited  num- 
ber of  things  it  can  do,  but  the  large  number  of  things  to 
which  it  gives  its  heart  and  hand.  That  is  the  truth  of  it.  A 
Church  that  has  only  one  or  two  things  going  on  is  no  Church 
for  a  man  with  a  lot  of  things  in  his  mind. 

We  are  going  to  do  it.  It  is  not  any  part  of  mine  to-night 
to  do  more  than  simply  to  speak  this  word  of  committal. 
When  I  was  a  young  fellow  in  the  school  of  theology  more 
years  ago  than  I  care  to  mention,  one  evening  I  read  in  the 
evening  paper  that  Mr.  George  William  Curtis,  then  editor  of 
Harper's  Weekly,  was  going  to  speak  in  Boston  Music  Hall 
upon  civil  service  reform.  That  was  the  day  when  the  prin- 
ciple "to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils"  was  absolutely  in- 
trenched in  American  politics.     I  went  to  hear  Mr,  Curtis. 


WE  SHALL  wm  331 

It  was  a  charming  address;  the  memory  of  it  will  live  with 
me  while  I  live.  At  the  close  of  the  address,  without  any 
fuss,  without  raising  his  voice,  without  any  indication  that 
he  had  to  persuade  himself  by  the  vigor  with  which  he  shouted 
what  he  was  saying,  but  with  the  perfect  calmness  that 
expresses  the  highest  confidence,  he  said :  "Ladies  and  gentle- 
men, civil  service  reform  is  coming  and  is  near."  Then  he 
told  this  story,  that  in  the  darkest  days  of  the  Civil  War, 
when  everything  seemed  discouraging,  he  called  upon  Mr. 
Lincoln  and  talked  with  him  far  into  the  night.  "When  we 
rose  to  separate  for  the  night,"  said  Mr.  Curtis,  "Mr.  Lin- 
coln, remembering  the  discouraging  conversation  that  we  had 
had,  turned  to  me  and,  putting  his  hand  on  my  shoulder, 
looked  down  into  my  eyes  with  the  most  patient  eyes  the 
world  has  seen  for  eighteen  centuries,  and  said  in  a  voice 
that  I  shall  never  forget,  'Nevertheless,  my  son,  we  shall  ivin' 

"Now,"  continued  Mr.  Curtis,  "whenever  I  am  tempted  to 
lose  heart,  with  reference  to  any  good  cause,  or  to  lose  heart 
with  reference  to  the  cause  of  good  itself,  I  feel  again  that 
hand  upon  my  shoulder,  and  see  again  those  patient  eyes,  and 
hear  again  that  confident  voice  saying,  'Nevertheless,  we  shall 
tvin/  for  victory  must  be  first  faith,  and  then  fact:  it  must 
first  be  in  our  hearts  and  then  in  our  hands." 

To-night,  victory  is  faith;  to-morrow  it  will  be  fact;  to- 
night it  is  in  our  hearts;  to-morrow,  please  God,  victory  will 
be  in  our  hands. 

Chicago,  111.  William  F.  McDowell. 


TWO  MEN 
J.  L.  Shepard 

Two  men  of  equal  heart  and  mind 
Go  forth  into  the  world  to  fight, 

To  win  what  seems  the  noblest  good 
And  battle  for  the  right. 

One  weaves  the  fabric  of  his  life 
Upon  the  loom  of  wealth  and  power 

And  sows  the  gifts  that  surely  reap 
The  plaudits  of  the  hour. 

The  other  holds  the  souls  of  men 
Above  the  lure  of  fame  and  gold, 

And,  toiling,  leads  the  scattered  sheep 
Into  his  Master's  fold. 

Which  won  success  and  true  reward, 
As  Life's  exacting  path  he  trod? 

Was  it  the  man  who  served  himself, 
Or  he  who  served  his  God? 


IT  COULDN^T  BE  DONE 

Somebody  said  that  it  couldn't  be  done. 

But  he,  with  a  chuckle,  replied 
That  "maybe  it  couldn't"  but  he  would  be  one 

Who  wouldn't  say  so  till  he'd  tried. 
So  he  buckled  right  in,  with  the  trace  of  a  grin 

On  his  face.     If  he  worried,  he  hid  it. 
He  started  to  sing  as  he  tackled  the  thing 

That  couldn't  be  done,  and  he  did  it. 

Somebody  scoffed:  "0,  you'll  never  do  that. 

At  least  no  one  ever  has  done  it." 
But  he  took  off  his  coat  and  he  took  off  his  hat, 

And  the  first  thing  we  knew  he'd  begun  it; 
With  the  lift  of  his  chin,  and  a  bit  of  a  grin. 

Without  any  doubting  or  quibbling; 
He  started  to  sing  as  he  tackled  the  thing 

That  couldn't  be  done,  and  he  did  it. 

There  are  thousands  to  tell  you,  "It  cannot  be  done"; 

There  are  thousands  to  prophesy  failure; 
There  are  thousands  to  point  out  to  you,  one  by  one. 

The  dangers  that  wait  to  assail  you; 
But  just  buckle  in  with,  a  bit  of  a  grin, 

Then  take  off  your  coat  and  go  to  it; 
Just  start  in  to  sing  as  you  tackle  the  thing 

That  "cannot  be  done"  and  you'll  do  it. 


GREETINGS   TO    THE 
CONVENTION 

JUSTICE  THOMAS  H.  ANDERSON,  LL.D. 

Supreme  Court,  District  of  Columbia 


Mr.  President,  friends  and  members  of  the  Convention: 
I  have  just  come  from  the  court-room  where  I  have  been 
trying  to  reconcile  the  conflicting  testimony  of  witnesses  upon 
the  somewhat  doubtful  theory  that  each  one  was  endeavoring 
to  tell  the  truth;  and  to  apply  the  law  of  the  case  upon  the 
less  doubtful  proposition  that  the  lawyers  would  have  been 
in  agreement  with  the  court  as  to  the  law  if  they  had  been 
administering  it  from  the  bench  instead  of  engaging  in  a 
legal  combat  at  the  bar.  I  come  from  that  somewhat  tur- 
bulent and  heated  atmosphere  into  this  serene  and  restful 
place  to  extend  to  you  on  behalf  of  the  membership  of  Metro- 
politan Church  and  of  the  members  of  all  the  Methodist 
churches  of  Washington,  a  most  hearty  greeting,  and  a  cor- 
dial welcome  to  this  historic  church  and  to  the  City  of  Wash- 
ington, and  to  assure  you  that  we  are  in  the  heartiest  sym- 
pathy with  the  purpose  of  your  coming.  If  this  Convention 
is  to  succeed  and  to  bear  the  fruits  for  which  we  hope  and 
pray,  we  must  grasp  its  purpose  and  catch  its  spirit.  Its 
purpose  is  plainly  stated  in  this  program :  its  spirit  is  in  the 
heart  and  hopes  of  our  common  Methodism,  and  you  will 
catch  it  a  little  later  if  the  spirit  of  this  Convention  has  not 
been  tugging  already  at  your  hearts. 

What  is  that  spirit  ?  It  is  the  spirit  of  fair  play,  the  spirit 
of  the  Golden  Eule :  To  do  unto  others  as  we  would  that  they 
should  do  unto  us.  We  are  commanded  by  the  Great  Head  of 
the  Church  to  "render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's 
and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's.''  While  He  thus 
admonishes  us  of  our  duty  to  the  state,  He  likewise  admonishes 
us  of  our  supreme  duty  to  God.  It  is  in  recognition  of  this 
supreme  duty,  not  only  supreme  but  all-comprehensive,  that 
we  are  here  assembled.    Within  close  reach  of  that  duty  stand 

333 


334  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

the  battle-worn  Veterans  of  our  great  Church.  We  are  here, 
therefore,  to  focus  our  thought  and  sympathy  upon  them  and 
upon  those  who  are  dependent  upon  them,  within  the  mean- 
ing and  spirit  of  the  Golden  Eule.  The  commanding  influence 
of  our  beloved  Church  as  a  power  for  righteousness  and  civic 
virtue  and  the  uncompromising  foe  of  men  and  measures 
inimical  to  the  advance  of  Christ's  kingdom  and  the  ultimate 
supremacy  of  His  reign  over  all  peoples  and  all  nations 
demands  not  only  that  our  Bishops,  ministers  and  other 
leaders,  like  the  leaders  of  great  armies  and  strong  navies, 
shall  be  trained  and  disciplined  for  high  service,  and  shall 
devote  their  lives  and  talents  to  that  service;  and  also  that 
when  the  years  of  service  end — when  by  reason  of  old  age  or 
other  disability,  they  can  no  longer  keep  step  with  the  mov- 
ing column — they  shall  not  be  permitted  to  suffer  and  to  be 
pauperized  through  the  indifference  and  neglect  of  the 
Church. 

The  time  has  come,  therefore,  for  action.  We  have  long 
since  recognized  the  necessity  for  this  movement,  but  now  for 
the  first  time  we  are  lining  up  to  meet  a  great  and  urgent  need. 
In  doing  so  we  are  simply  following  the  humane  policy  of  the 
railroads,  and  other  great  business  enterprises  of  this  country, 
as  well  as  the  policy  of  the  government  of  the  United  States 
itself,  which  already  has  upon  its  pension  rolls  its  soldiers 
and  its  sailors,  and  will  soon  have  added  thereto  a  vast  civic 
pension  list,  to  the  end  that  the  men  who  have  toiled  in  the 
service  of  the  government  until  they  have  reached  the  age 
when  they  are  no  longer  able  to  labor  and  earn  a  living  shall 
not  be  cast  out  unprovided  for.  So  should  the  Church,  fol- 
lowing out  this  humane  policy  and  recognizing  the  urgent 
necessities  of  the  case,  be  quick  to  respond  to  the  needs  of 
the  situation  by  generous  voluntary  gifts  from  its  member- 
ship. We  see  in  England  an  established  Church  with  its 
Bishops,  Archbishops,  Peers  of  the  realm,  and  spiritual  lords 
of  Parliament;  with  great  cathedrals  nobly  endowed,  and  all 
that,  but  in  this  country  we  have  no  such  establishment; 
and  it  is  to  the  glory  and  usefulness  of  the  Church  that  we 
have  not.  But  the  necessity  for  suitable  provision  for  these 
worthy  Veterans  is  all  the  more  imperative.  The  men  who 
under  the  call  of  God  enter  the  ministry  and  dedicate  their 
lives  to  His  service  are  dependent,  as  a  rule,  upon  the  meager 


GREETINGS  AND  RESPONSE  335 

salaries  voluntarily  contributed  by  the  membership  of  their 
respective  con^i^regations,  with  nothing  to  look  forward  to  for 
the  support  of  themselves  and  those  dependent  upon  them 
when  old  age  overtakes  them,  other  than  the  wholly  inade- 
quate provision  now  made  under  our  present  system.  This 
unfortunate  situation  should  not  be  allowed  to  continue.  If 
the  spirit  of  the  Golden  Rule  and  the  teachings  of  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  are  to  be  given  practical  application  to  the 
present  situation,  let  us  make  haste  to  do  unto  these  our 
brethren  as  we  would  that  they  should  do  unto  us. 

If  we  do  that — and  I  believe  we  will — we  cannot  fail.  This 
great  Campaign,  which  you  are  here  inaugurating,  cannot  be 
completed  in  a  day  nor  in  a  year.  It  takes  four  years  to 
organize  and  carry  to  completion  a  presidential  campaign, 
and  if  it  takes  as  long  to  complete  this  Campaign  for  right- 
eousness and  simple  justice — although  no  such  time  should 
be  required — let  us  see  to  it  that  we  do  not  grow  weary  in 
the  fight,  but  that  the  justice  and  urgent  need  of  this  move- 
ment be  earnestly  pressed  home  upon  the  hearts  and  con- 
sciences of  our  people,  to  the  end  that  the  Campaign  may  be 
gloriously  and  quickly  won. 

Washington,  D.  C.  Thomas  H.  Anderson. 


RESPONSE  TO  THE  ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME 

The  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Van  Cleve,  D.D. 

2d  Vice-President,  Board  of  Conference  Claimants 

It  is  an  unprecedented  thing  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
that  there  should  be  a  convention  of  this  character  which  will 
spend  three  days  considering  the  interests  of  the  Veteran 
Preachers.  Such  a  thing  has  never  been  even  dreamed  of 
before,  and  it  emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  Retired  Minister 
has  won  an  altogether  new  place  in  the  thinking  of  the 
Church.  We  are  gathered  to  award  to  him  this  new  place  in 
our  thinking,  that  a  little  further  on  we  may  give  him  the 
place  of  comfort  which  the  Church  is  providing. 

It  has  always  been  easy  to  indulge  in  eloquence  about  the 
worn-out  preachers,  every  one  of  them  invested  with  the 
pathos  that  hovers  over  any  man  who  is  close  to  the  edge  of 
eternity;  and  over  the  line  of  lonely  women  who  at  times 


336  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

attend  our  Conferences,  reminding  us  of  brethren  departed. 
It  would  be  easy  for  a  man  who  has  any  gift  of  eloquence  to 
])e  eloquent  aljout  them;  to  heap  up  invective  against  rich 
men  and  a  neglectful  Church;  to  draw  portraits  of  uncom- 
plaining poverty,  or  to  praise  the  heroism  of  days  that  are  past 
and  the  almost  unbelievable  results  of  the  labors  of  these 
men  who  can  labor  no  more.  But  the  significance  of  this 
gathering  is  that  we  have  come  upon  a  time  when  we  feel 
that  such  things  are  no  longer  sufficient,  and  that  the  time  has 
come  to  develop  a  broad  and  a  consistent  business  policy  for 
their  care.  Such  a  policy  has  been  outlined,  and  the  direc- 
tions for  the  forward  movement  have  been  definitely  given. 

We  have  found  oursehes  a  little  embarrassed  by  the  multi- 
plicity of  interests  that  seem  to  converge  toward  this  one  end 
and  which  as  yet  do  not  converge  accurately.  We  have  not 
always  been  quite  sure  of  keeping  out  of  one  another's  way, 
and  have  not  fully  coordinated  the  various  forces  that  work 
to  this  end  in  the  various  parts  of  our  great  connection.  But 
for  the  time  being,  we  have  moved  the  Capital  of  Methodism 
to  the  Capital  of  the  nation  that  we  may  take  counsel  to- 
gether, and  make  large  and  consistent  plans  which  may  be 
materialized  into  large  and  consistent  operations;  and  I  trust 
and  believe  that  wdien  we  shall  have  concluded  our  delibera- 
tions here  we  will  be  ready  to  go  before  the  Church  with  such 
a  comprehensive  program  as  will  command  instant  acquies- 
cence and  hearty  cooperation. 

One  of  the  things  which  give  us  the  largest  assurance  of 
progress  and  success  is  the  response  we  find  everywhere  from 
the  thoughtful  laity  of  the  Church,  such  as  has  just  been 
voiced  by  Mr.  Justice  Anderson.  We  are  very  grateful  for 
this  greeting  and  for  the  privilege  of  meeting  in  this  signifi- 
cant church  of  Methodism,  which  has  so  much  of  the  historic 
connected  with  it;  and  we  shall  be  glad  in  connection  with 
our  chief  Ministers  and  ecclesiastical  leaders  to  devise  and 
plan  a  campaign  that  shall  so  capture  the  imagination  and 
liberality  of  the  Church  that  at  its  consummation  the  Veteran 
Preacher  shall  come  to  his  own,  and  have  such  a  support  as 
will  enable  him  to  retire  in  both  comfort  and  dignity;  hav- 
ing a  sense  of  dignity  himself  and  a  knowledge  that  the 
Church  itself  is  being  dignified  by  the  care  with  which  it  pro- 
vides for  its  servants  in  their  old  age. 


PART  III.    THE  CLAIM  SUPREME 

CHAPTER  II.     THE  1915  CAMPAIGN 

PAGE 

The  Unthinking  La3'man 338 

1.  History  of  the  Campaign Ilingdcy 339 

2.  Some  New  Things 344 

3.  Approaching  a  Crisis Transue 349 

4.  German  Conferences Mulfinger 351 

5.  Ein  Wohlverdienter  Lohn Loeppert 355 

6.  Swedish  Conferences Young 359 

7.  VoR  Gjeld  til  de  Udtjente  Predikanter     Madsen 361 

8.  Colored  Conferences Dea?i 363 

9.  Cooperation — The  Bishops Neely 365 

10.  Cooperation — District  Superintendents     Parkin 367 

11.  Cooperation — Conference         Organiza- 

tions       Morse 369 

12.  Conference  Leadership Slease 375 

The  Man  without  a  Future 378 

13.  The  Campaign  Program. , Hingelcy 379 

14.  The  Campaign  Cooperative,    Intensive, 

Extensive Dorian 383 

15.  Official  Family — Round  Robin 

Publishing  Agents 388 

Editors 389 

Corresponding  Secretaries 396 

16.  "Why  Don't  You  Speak  for  Yourself?"      402 

17.  We'll  Do  It! Oldham 403 

The  Hero  Fund 406 


338  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

THE  UNTHINKING  LAYMAN 

Brother  Jim  Jones  was  a  Methodist  of  the  old  school; 
always  at  his  place  in  church  ready  to  shout,  sing  or  pray. 

Among  his  stock  was  old  Bill,  a  black  mule  Avith  nearly  a 
third  of  a  century  faithful  service  to  his  credit. 

One  morning  Brother  Jones  hitched  Bill  to  the  plow  and 
started  across  the  field. 

"Git  up  !"  said  Brother  Jones,  but  Bill  didn't  move.  He  just 
turned  his  head,  looked  mournful  like  at  his  boss  and  laid 
down.  His  working  days  were  over.  Brother  Jones  knew 
that,  because  it  was  the  first  time  that  Bill  had  ever  refused 
to  move.  As  he  looked  into  the  mule's  eyes  he  knew  that 
Bill  had  done  his  level  best,  and  that  he  hated  to  quit.  But 
there  was  no  help  for  it:  and  so  he  turned  him  out  to  die. 

That  night  Joe,  Brother  Jones'  boy,  said : 

"Pap,  what've  you  done  with  old  Bill  ?" 

"Why,  son,  he  fell  down  at  the  plow  this  morning,  and 
I  turned  him  out  to  die.     Guess  his  working  days  are  over.^' 

"You  turned  old  Bill  out  to  die!  See  here.  Pap;  ain't 
he  been  working  for  you  all  his  life?" 

"He  sure  has,  son,  and  he  worked,  hard,  too." 

"And  you  goin'  to  church  every  Sunday  and  singin'  ^I 
Want  to  Be  an  Angel'  ?  Pap,  do  you  reckon  an  angel  would 
treat  old  Bill  that  way  after  he'd  worked  for  him  all  his 
days  ?" 

This  was  putting  the  thing  in  a  new  light  to  the  old  man, 
and  Brother  Jones  began  to  feel  that  he  had  been  pretty  mean 
to  old  Bill.  He  spoke  to  his  wife  about  it,  and  she  told  him 
that  if  he  didn't  go  out  and  get  old  Bill  and  bring  him  to 
the  barn  and  feed  him  and  treat  him  well  from  that  time  on, 
she'd  leave  him.  Every  person  about  the  place  seemed  to 
think  that  Brother  Jones  had  treated  old  Bill  outrageously 
mean;  and  he  was  so  ashamed  of  himself  that  he  sneaked 
down  into  the  woods,  hunted  up  the  old  mule  and  brought 
him  back. 

From  that  time  on  every  day  was  Sunday  for  old  Bill. 

Was  Joe  right  ?  Were  Sister  Jones  and  the  hired  man 
and  the  neighbors  right? 

Did  old  Bill's  third  of  a  century  of  faithful  geeing  and 
hawing  and  plowing  and  mowing  beget  DUTY? 

And  I  wonder  if  old  Preacher's  service  begets  duty. 


THE  Al^^TERAXS'  JUBILEE  339 

HISTORY  OF  THE  1915  CAMPAIGN 

Dn.  IIixgeley's  Report,  1912 

Jn  the  report  made  ])y  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants  at  the  Annual  Meeting  in 
February,  1912,  the  following  suggestions  were  recorded: 

The  Veterans'  Jubii.ee 

The  suggestion  of  Dr.  E.  L.  Watson,  of  the  Baltimore 
Conference,  that  since  the  next  quadrennium  included  the 
Sesqui-Centennial  of  American  Methodism,  it  should  be  made 
emphatic  by  raising  a  million  dollars  for  the  Permanent  Fund 
of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  has  been  echoed  in 
dift'erent  parts  of  the  country.  Mr.  J.  P.  Holland,  formerly 
of  Milford,  Del.,  introduced  the  following  resolution  in  the 
California  Lay  Electoral  Conference,  and  it  was  unanimously 
passed : 

^^Whereas,  The  next  Quadrennium,  1912-1916,  includes  the 
one  hundred  and  fiftieth  Anniversary  of  American  ^leth- 
odism,  the  tremendous  growth  of  which  has  been  due  in  the 
largest  sense  to  the  fidelity,  energy  and  self-sacrifice  of  a 
Ministry  which  is  represented  to-day  by  the  Superannuated 
Preachers,  who  have  so  often  yielded  to  other  causes  that  only 
during  one  brief  quadrennium  has  the  Church  systematically 
and  earnestly  pushed  their  claims  on  the  attention  of  our 
people  or  legislated  directly  in  their  interest.    Therefore,  be  it 

'Tiesolved,  1,  That  we  memorialize  the  General  Conference 
of  1912  to  assign  to  the  Church,  during  the  next  quadren- 
nium, the  holy  task  of  so  increasing  the  annual  income  for 
the  superannuates  that  the  promise  of  a  comfortable  support, 
sacredly  made  to  them  when  they  enter  the  Methodist  .Alm- 
istry,  shall  be  fulfilled  to  those  who  are  to-day  in  the  honored 
ranks  of  the  Veteran  Preachers. 

"2.  That  to  secure  such  comfortai)le  support  for  the  future, 
we  request  the  General  Conference  to  call  upon  tlie  (^hurch 
for  a  Million  Dollars  for  the  Permanent  Fund  of  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants,  that  it  may  have  ample  funds  avail- 
able to  lead  the  Church  in  this  movement,  and  to  provide  for 
necessitous  cases  and  needy  Conferences. 

''3.  That  we  request  the  Bishops  to  include  this  movement 


340  THE  IIETIHED  MINISTER 

in  the  Episcopal  Address,  and  to  urge  this  program  on  the 
attention  of  the  General  Conference  with  such  recommenda- 
tion as  may  seem  to  them  to  be  wise,  to  the  end  tliat  the 
Church  may  graciously  and  sufficiently  provide  for  the  super- 
annuates who  come  from  the  pastorate,  as  it  does  for  those 
who  enter  the  Honor  Roll  of  the  Veteran  Ministry  from  the 
General  Superintendency." 

Quite  a  number  of  Annual  and  Lay  Conferences  passed 
similar  resolutions,  memorializing  the  General  Conference  to 
set  aside  the  next  quadrennium  for  Conference  Claimants. 

Dr.  Hingeley,  Corresponding  Secretary,  added: 

"It  is  very  fitting  that  the  several  Jubilees  w^hich  have  been 
held,  for  Africa,  Korea,  China,  etc.,  should  be  followed  by  a 
great  Jubilee  for  the  cause  of  the  Veteran  Preacher;  and  it 
is  ho23ed  that  the  next  General  Conference  will  assign  to  the 
Board  the  task  of  leadership  in  this  movement,  and  I  suggest 
that  a  memorial  covering  the  same  be  sent  from  this  Board 
to  the  General  Conference  and  that  the  Members  of  the 
Board  who  may  be  delegates  to  the  next  General  Conference 
be  requested  to  urge  this  matter  on  the  attention  of  the  dele- 
gates. 

"The  Hebrew  Jubilee  was  held  every  fifty  years.  The  Old 
Preacher  has  waited  three  times  fifty  years  for  his  Jubilee. 
How  dare  we  refuse  him !'' 

The  General  Coxference^  1912 

In  accordance  with  these  suggestions,  the  Board  memorial- 
ized the  General  Conference^  which  took  action  as  follow^s: 
Report  No.  1,  the  Jubilee  Gift 

"Whereas^  The  year  1912  is  the  Centenary  of  the  first  dele- 
gated General  Conference  and  opens  the  quadrennium  in 
which  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  American 
Methodism  falls  and  should  be  fittingly  observed.  Therefore 
be  it 

"Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  authorize  a  general 
canvass  of  the  Church,  during  this  quadrennium,  in  behalf  of 
the  various  endowment  funds  for  Conference  Claimants,  for 
a  Jubilee  Gift  of  $5,000,000,  the  same  to  comprise  all  gifts 
to  the  funds  of  the  several  Annual  Conferences,  and  also  to 
the  Connectional  Permanent  Fund  of  the  Board  of  Confer- 
ence Claimants.'^ 


MOVEMENT  F017  COOPEKATIOX  341 

The  Action  of  the  Board,  1913 

At  tlie  Animal  Meeting  of  the  Board  held  in  February, 
1913,  the  Board  adopted  the  following: 

"We  note  with  pleasure  that  part  of  the  report  of  the  Corre- 
sponding Secretary  concerning  his  interviews  with  represen- 
tatives of  Annual  Conferences,  relative  to  cooperation  be- 
tween Annual  Conferences  and  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants,  which  indicates  willingness  on  their  part  to  engage 
in  such  combined  effort.  This  will  not  only  directly  increase 
the  amounts  in  the  hands  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants, but  will  enable  the  Board  largely  and  effectively  to 
promote  the  general  cause  by  helping  to  increase  the  funds 
in  the  hands  of  Annual  Conferences." 

Dr.  Hingeley's  Report,  1914 

Meanwhile  the  Corresponding  Secretary  had  come  into 
sympathetic  relations  with  the  leaders  in  many  great  Con- 
ferences, and  in  February,  1914,  was  able  to  report  to  the 
Board  as  follows : 

"I  believe  our  plans  are  practicable  and  that  large  results 
will  be  accomplished  by  cooperative  effort.  Nineteen  hundred 
fourteen  should  be  the  year  when  the  Annual  Conferences 
shall  assume  their  entire  responsibility  for  Retired  Ministers 
and  other  claimants  and  provide  sufficiently  for  present  needs. 
Nineteen  hundred  fifteen  must  be  the  year  of  cooperation 
between  the  Board  and  the  Annual  Conferences  to  bring 
from  hiding  $5,000,000  of  God's  money,  now  'hid  in  napkins' 
and  subject  to  moth  and  rust  and  loss;  and  191G  should  see 
the  present  provisions  for  the  care  of  Retired  Ministers  and 
widows  so  far  realized  as  to  make  it  advisable  to  adjust  stand- 
ards of  support  on  a  more  liberal  basis." 

After  mature  deliberation  the  Board  adopted  the  following 
resolution : 

"We  believe  that  the  time  has  come  when  some  aggressive 
movement  should  be  made  to  bring  this  Board  and  the  secre- 
taries or  other  representatives  of  Annual  Conference  Super- 
annuate Funds,  Preachers'  Aid  Societies  and  similar  organi- 
zations, as  well  as  representatives  of  the  Conferences  which 
have  as  yet  no  organization,  into  a  more  perfect  understand- 
ing that  we  are  Awrking  for  the  same  end.    Therefore, 


;U-2  TTTT^  JlETTliT^T)  MTXTSTET? 

"We  recommend  that  this  Board  take  the  initiative  by  call- 
ing a  great  confereiice  of  secretaries  and  representatives  to 
meet  with  the  Board  at  tlie  time  most  advisable.  To  this 
end  the  coo2)erati(>n  of  tlie  Bisliops  sliould  l)e  secured." 

Group  Meetings 
The  General  Cojiference  had  already  taken  action,  looking 
forward  to  an  intensive  campaign  for  Five  Million  Dollars 
as  the  Sesqui-Centennial  Gift  for  Conference  Claimants; 
and  in  accordance  with  this  recommendation  of  the  Board, 
Dr.  Ilingeley  held  group  meetings  of  Conference  representa- 
tives at  Minneapolis,  Chicago,  Columbus,  Cleveland,  Syracuse, 
Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  all  of  which 
unanimously  recommended  that  an  intensive  and  extensive 
campaign  for  Five  Million  Dollars  during  the  year  1915  be 
projected,  and  requested  the  Bishops  to  cooperate  in  the 
arrangements  and  to  give  episcopal  leadership. 

Bishops'  Meeting  at  Germantown 

Meanwhile  the  spring  Conferences  endorsed  the  1915  CAM- 
PAIGN, and  on  April  30,  1914,  a  committee  representing  the 
several  group  meetings  waited  upon  the  Board  of  Bishops, 
who  unanimously  adopted  the  following: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  have  heard  with  pleasure  the 
representations  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  and 
of  the  several  Annual  Conferences,  concerning  the  plans 
under  contemplation  for  the  larger  and  more  adequate  pro- 
vision for  the  care  of  our  Conference  Claimants. 

"2.  That  without  having  before  us  the  details  of  plans  pro- 
posed, we  heartily  approve  the  general  purpose  to  raise  the 
sum  of  Five  Million  Dollars  for  this  worthy  cause  during 
this  quadrennium. 

"3.  That  a  committee  of  three  Bishops  be  appointed  at 
this  meeting  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  Church  to  be 
adopted  at  our  following  meeting,  for  the  launching  of  the 
Campaign  proposed  for  the  year  1915. 

"■1.  That  we  pledge  our  hearty  cooperation  to  this  Cam- 
paign in  all  ways." 

The  following  Committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  the 
Address  and  Appeal  to  the  Church :  Bishops  McDowell,  Berry 
and  Quayle. 


THE  1915  CAMPAIGN  313 

In  sending  these  resolutions  to  the  Churcli  tlic  senior 
Bishop  sent  the  following  message : 

^'Uocl  gave  the  Gospel,  hut  it  was  brought  to  our  liomes  and 
hearts  by  devoted,  self-denying  Messengers  of  His  graee. 
The  world  will  never  pay  its  debt  to  these  men,  but  the 
Church  will  not  repudiate  their  claim.  The  debt  is  just.  It 
is  long  overdue. 

"A  Jubilee  of  debt  paying !  Good  for  the  General  Confer- 
ence.    Let  us  make  1915  a  memorable  year  for  the  A^eterans. 

Earl  Cranston." 

During  the  summer  of  1914  Dr.  Hingeley  met  district 
superintendents.  Conference  agents,  trustees,  stewards  and 
otber  representatives  of  tliirty  fall  Conferences,  which  made 
recommendations  for  the  1915  CAMPAIGN",  which  were  sub- 
sequently adopted  l)y  the  Annual  Conferences. 

The  1915  Campaign 

The  1915  CAMPAIGN"  is  not  merely  for  $5,000,000.  It 
is  for  whatever  amount  of  money,  as  determined  by  the  sev- 
eral Annual  Conferences,  is  necessary  in  order  to  provide  a 
dependable  annuity  or  pension  for  all  claimants  for  all  time 
to  come.  On  December  31,  1914:,  the  total  amount  so  desig- 
nated exceeds  $13,000,000,  with  several  Conferences  yet  to 
report.  When  this  amount,  in  addition  to  present  holdings, 
is  in  the  treasuries  of  the  several  Annual  Conferences,  and 
in  the  Permanent  Fund  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants, Annual  Conferences  will  be  on  the  one  hundred  per 
cent  basis  of  payment,  will  be  able  to  provide  the  full  annu- 
ities as  fixed  by  the  Discipline  and  to  add  a  sufficient  amount 
in  the  special  cases  so  as  to  insure  a  "comfortable  support" 
for  each  of  the  seven  thousand  Claimants  of  Methodism. 

Washington  Inauguration  Convention 

Such  was  the  preparatory  work  wliich  brought  the  Church 
to  the  Climactic  Day,  October  29,  1914,  when,  after  the  close 
of  the  Washington  Inauguration  Convention,  tlie  Bishops  de- 
livered their  "Address  and  Appeal  to  the  Cliurch." 


344  THE  IJETIRED  MINISTER 

SOME  NEW  THINGS 

THE  NEW  ATMOSPHEEE  AND  PURPOSE 

At  the  Central  New  York  Conference  I  was  introduced  at 
ten  o'clock,  and  to  my  question,  "How  much  time  have  I  ?" 
Bishop  Burt  replied,  "You  have  all  the  time  until  adjourn- 
ment," two  hours;  and  the  Bishop,  Dr.  Keeney,  Dr.  Greene 
and  myself  took  all  the  time.  At  two  o'clock  I  was  called  to 
speak  at  a  joint  meeting  of  the  laymen  and  preachers,  and 
again  at  six  o'clock  at  the  banquet  of  the  Laymen's  Associa- 
tion. Do  you  wonder  that  the  Campaign  is  progressing  in  the 
Central  New  York  Conference  when  the  cause  of  the  Eetired 
Preacher  does  not  have  to  beg  for  a  hearing,  and  laymen  like 
Brother  Transue* bring  the  message  of  their  devotion! 

Area  Meetings 

In  addition  to  the  meeting  of  the  representatives  of  the 
six  Conferences  of  the  Buffalo  Area,  called  by  Bishop  Burt, 
I  had  held  two  meetings  at  Syracuse  in  preparation  for  the 
Annual  Conference.  Every  District  Superintendent  of  the 
Conference  is  at  this  Convention:  Mills,  Pittman,  Brown, 
Riegel.  The  Conference  did  not  beg  off  from  their  duty  to 
their  Retired  Brethren,  but  asl^ed  for  tlie  full  disciplinary 
apportionment — enough  money  to  pay  present  claims  in  full. 
In  this  the  Conferences  have  not  been  playing  fair  with  their 
aged  brethren.  The  Bishops^  claim,  the  District  Superintend- 
ents' claim  and  the  Pastors'  claim  are  asked  for  at  one  hun- 
dred cents  on  the  dollar,  as  they  should  be,  but  the  laity  are 
being  asked  to  pay  only  forty,  sixty  or  seventy  cents  on  the 
dollar  of  the  claims  of  the  Retired  Preachers.  IJnless  Pastors, 
District  Superintendents,  and  Bishops  are  ready  to  accept  their 
own  claims  on  the  basis  of  forty,  sixty  or  seventy  cents  on 
the  dollar,  they  ought  not  to  be  willing  that  the  Retired 
Preachers  should  have  their  claims  discounted.  This  is  not 
laying  an  added  burden  on  the  pastoral  charges.  The  obli- 
gation is  710W  there,  unmet,  and  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  is 
to  help  the  laymen  fulfill  their  responsibility  to  the  entire 
Ministry. 

On  Saturday  night  a  representative  of  the  Washington 
Times   came   to   me.      He   had   been   assigned   the   duty   of 


NO  IIAED  LUCK  STOIUES  345 

writing  the  story  of  the  Convention.  After  he  had  hcen  given 
the  information  he  came  to  seek,  he  said  that  he  would  like 
some  "human  interest"  or  "hard  luck  stories,"  some  statement 
of  the  poverty  and  penury  of  the  old  Preachers.  I  showed 
him  the  larger  vision  and  meaning  of  the  Campaign,  and 
said:  "My  brother,  the  Methodist  Church  is  not  dealing 
out  hard  luck  stories.  We  have  gone  beyond  that.  It  is  true 
that  some  Methodist  Preachers  are  poor,  but  they  consider 
their  poverty  ^in  executive  session'  and  enjoy  the  luxury  of 
keeping  their  poverty  to  themselves.  We  are  not  pleading 
poverty ;  we  have  no  'hard  luck'  stories  to  tell ;  we  are  a  party 
of  Christian  gentlemen,  ministers  and  laymen,  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  who  have  mutual  obliga- 
tions, which  we  are  seeking  to  meet  fairly  and  squarely,  not 
on  the  basis  of  hard  luck  stories,  nor  the  plea  to  pity  the  poor 
old  penniless  Preacher,  but  on  the  basis  of  the  righteousness 
of  the  claims  of  the  Veteran  Ministers  and  the  joyful  willing- 
ness of  the  laymen  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to 
meet  in  full  all  the  obligations  of  the  Discipline."  A  fine 
article  on  the  retiring  competency  for  Retired  Ministers  ap- 
peared the  next  day. 

A  Laymen's  Movement 

It  is  well  to  remember,  when  speaking  of  the  Disciplinary 
provisions  for  Conference  Claimants,  that  half  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  General  Conference  who  made  the  legislation 
were  laymen  and  that  the  Magna  Charta  statement  that  "the 
claim  for  a  comfortable  support  inheres  in  the  ministry  and 
is  not  invalidated  by  the  retirement,"  was  written  by  a  lay- 
man, Eobert  T.  Miller.  I  have  yet  to  find  an  intelligent 
layman  who  does  not  ring  true  on  this  question.  I  have 
never  had  any  difficulty  in  the  Lay  Associations  or  Lay 
Conferences.  In  three  instances,  when  Annual  Conferences 
were  asking  less  than  the  law  required,  memorials  were  sent 
over  from  the  Lay  Conference  to  the  Annual  Conference  re- 
questing that  the  full  amount  be  apportioned. 

In  another  Laymen's  Association,  when  the  stewards  hesi- 
tated to  ask  for  the  full  amount,  the  laymen  stated  that  they 
were  not  begging  off,  and  would  gladly  do  what  the  law 
required.     At  the  Rock  River  Conference  a  year  ago,  Dr. 


;ji.G  THE  ]?ETIIfEI)  MINTSTKI? 

James  Eowc,  since  gone  to  his  reward,  asked,  "Dr.  Ilingeley, 
how  much  money  must  the  churches  of  the  Rock  Kiver  Con- 
ference raise  in  order  to  pay  the  claims  in  full  ?"  They  had 
heen  apportioning  $15,000.  I  replied,  "$30,000."  The  ap- 
portionment was  fixed  at  $30,000,  and  they  paid  their 
Claimants  ten  thousand  dollars  more  this  year  than  last,  and 
commissioned  the  Eev.  C.  A.  Kelley  to  raise  $500,000  for  the 
Preachers'  Aid  Society. 

The  West  Ohio  Conference  Commission  recommended  a 
campaign  for  $400,000.  The  Conference  Trustees  lowered 
the  recommendation  to  $300,000,  but  the  Conference  made  it 
$500,000. 

PnoMisEs  Realized  in  Cash 

I  hope  that  by  the  time  this  Convention  closes  every  one  of 
us  will  be  so  filled  with  determination  and  enthusiasm  that  the 
Spring  Conferences  will  put  themselves  into  line,  and  that 
what  is  needed  shall  be  accomplished  throughout  the  entire 
Church:  Enough  money  to  meet  all  obligations  in  full.  I  am 
thankful  that  we  are  at  last  seeing  the  whole  Church  mov- 
ing as  one  body.  We  have  the  natural  leadership,  that 
of  our  Bishops  and  District  Superintendents,  and  the  whole 
Church,  laymen  and  preachers,  are  forwarding  the  work,  not 
merely  because  some  aged  or  poor  man  needs  help,  but  because 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  would  so  meet  its  obligations 
to  the  Ministry  that  the  young  man  who  takes  his  first  vows 
shall  know  that  if  he  serves  God  in  the  Methodist  Ministry 
until  old  age  comes,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  the 
money  invested  to  take  care  of  him  until  God  shall  call  him 
home.  And  there  will  be  the  delightful  thought  for  the  young 
man  that  while  he  is  waiting  the  eligibility  of  old  age,  the 
income  on  the  money  will  be  providing  for  other  blessed 
brethren,  and  that  when  he  passes  along,  generations  of  Meth- 
odist Preachers  will  l)e  strengthened  for  their  duty  with  the 
knowledge  that  the  money  is  there. 

The  promises  are  good  enough  to  rejoice  the  heart.  T^et  us 
cash  these  promises,  not  only  for  the  old  man  sitting  in  the 
front  pew,  but  for  ourselves  as  well,  for  to-morrow  our  dull 
ears  will  make  us  seek  the  front  pews;  and  for  generations  of 
young  preachers  whom  we  would  lure  into  the  Ministry. 


'TUK  NEW  EMPTTASTS  34^ 


THE  XEW  EMPITASTS 


Olio  of  the  most  liolj)fal  tilings  connected  with  the  present 
Ccini2)aign  is  the  fact  that  the  emphasis  is  heing  pnt  at  a 
new  2^hice.  The  ohl  2)lea,  ^'pity  the  poor  okl  preacher"  on 
account  of  his  poverty  has  been  supijlanted  by  the  new  plea 
to  help  enable  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  make  good 
its  promises  to  the  Eetired  Preachers.  The  liabilities  for 
Conference  Claimants  can  be  determined  by  any  accountant 
who  reads  the  law  and  understands  the  situation.  The  re- 
sources can  be  determined  from  published  reports;  the  bal- 
ance, which  indicates  the  net  liability,  is  a  matter  of  subtrac- 
tion of  resources  from  liabilities;  and  the  proposition  of  the 
1915  CAMPAIGN  is  to  eliminate  the  net  liabilities  ])y 
making  the  resources  equal  to  the  liabilities. 

As  far  as  the  American  Conferences  are  concerned  the 
gross  liabilities  to-day  are  about  $l/)00,000;  the  gross  re- 
sources are  less  than  $1,100,000,  which  makes  the  net 
liabilities  in  excess  of  $500,000.  On  account  of  unwilling- 
ness to  face  the  proposition  of  so  great  a  net  liability,  there 
has  been  a  tendency  in  the  Conferences  not  to  state  the  entire 
gross  liability.  This  ostrich-like  custom  of  l)urying  the  head 
in  the  sand  has  ceased,  and  the  laymen,  especially,  are  de- 
manding that  the  full  liabilities  be  stated,  and  are  placing 
themselves  on  the  platform  of  the  most  rigid  honor  and 
honorable  dealing  with  all  claimants.  They  are  rebuking 
the  foolish  habit  of  the  ministers,  who  alone  can  fix  the 
apportionments  for  the  pastoral  charges,  standing  between 
the  layman's  duty  and  his  pocketbook.  They  feel  fully 
competent  to  defend  their  own  purses  and  are  saying  to  the 
ministers,  "Tell  us  what  the  Veterans  need  and  the  law  re- 
quires, and  we  will  show  that  our  professions  of  love  to  the 
aged  Ministers  are  more  than  sentiment.^' 

How  often  this  note  was  struck  at  the  Convention ! 
Bishops,  Preachers,  lavmen,  all  sang  the  song  of  GRATI- 
TUDE and  justice'  in  the  same  key.  Every  Bishop  that 
spoke  rang  true  to  the  fact  of  the  Church's  duty  to  provide 
for  the  Petired  Ministers.  Laymen  declared  that  the  Church 
was  ready  honestly  to  pay  its  debts  to  the  Veterans  and 
gratefully  recognized  their  obligations;  and  the  Preachers 
on  the  program,  from  opening  to  close,  opened  the  eyes  of  all 


34B  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

to  the  vision  of  the  great  Church  recognizing  its  supreme 
ohligations  and  meeting  them  in  the  spirit  of  loyal  and 
loving  gratitude. 


EFFICIENCY 

The  relation  of  suitable  provisions  for  Retired  Preachers  to 
"efficiency"  of  the  Minister  was  greatly  emphasized.  Dean 
Birney,  of  the  Boston  School  of  Theology,  presented  the 
relation  of  the  ministerial  pensions  to  the  call  to  preach.  Dr. 
Joseph  W.  Van  Cleve  made  an  exceedingly  strong  presenta- 
tion of  the  fact  that  it  was  far  better  for  efficiency  in  the 
Church  of  God  that  the  Church  provide  for  the  old  age  of 
its  ministers  and  require  them  to  make  investments  in  them- 
selves for  a  larger  efficiency  instead  of  starving  mind  and 
spiritual  impulses  by  the  processes  of  meager  savings  for  the 
"rainy  day."  Bishop  McConnell  in  his  usual  clear  and  lucid 
manner  urged  the  same  matter  at  the  Inauguration  Meeting. 


THE  CLIMAX  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN 

The  General  Conference  assigned  the  Campaign  for  Five 
Million  Dollars  to  this  quadrennium,  during  which  occurs 
the  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  American 
Methodism.  Nineteen  hundred  and  fifteen  has  been  made  the 
Campaign  Year,  and  the  spring  Conferences  will  have  just 
a  full  year  to  complete  their  canvass.  At  the  convention 
the  Rev.  E.  L.  Watson,  D.D.,  District  Superintendent  of  the 
Baltimore  West  District,  made  a  very  fitting  suggestion  that 
the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  Asbury's  death,  March  31, 
1916,  be  set  for  the  climactic  ending  of  the  Campaign. 

Never  was  a  suggestion  more  timely  or  more  valuable  or 
that  carried  in  itself  a  larger  meaning  than  that  the  one  year 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  magnificent  history,  which 
is  to  be  devoted  to  this  INHERENT,  FOREMOST  AND 
SUPREME  Claim  should  conclude  with  the  anniversary  of 
the  death  of  the  great  founder  of  American  Methodism. 


APPROACHING  A 
CRISIS 

MR.  JUDSON  L.  TRANSUE 

Williamson,  N.  Y. 


I  am  deeply  interested  in  the  care  of  Retired  Ministers  be- 
cause I  know  what  Methodist  Ministers  have  had  to  -undergo 
in  order  to  bring  to  us  our  glorious  heritage,  because  my 
father  preached  the  blessed  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  for  fifty 
years  and  never  received  a  salary  of  over  eight  hundred 
dollars  a  year.  I  know  what  it  means  for  a  man  to  give  his 
life  to  the  Church  and  bring  up  a  family  of  seven  children 
on  such  a  stipend,  and  I  am  free  to  confess  that  I  do  not  see 
how  it  was  done,  except  through  God^s  help.  When  Christ- 
mas came  I  have  seen  the  anxious  look  upon  the  faces  at  the 
head  of  the  table,  who  were  wondering  what  the  little  ones 
would  have  for  Christmas;  but  I  have  seen  these  same  faces 
light  up  with  joy  when  they  had  given  their  lives  to  the  work 
and  had  seen  sinners  come  to  the  altar  and  yield  their  hearts 
to  the  Lord;  and  have  heard  them  say,  "It  is  worth  all  it 
cost ;  and  it  has  not  cost  more  than  it  ought  to  have  cost.^'  I 
cannot  recall  a  single  grumble  through  all  those  years,  nor  a 
single  regretful  expression  except,  "I  wish  we  could  have  done 
more.^^     J^'hey  preached  the  Gospel,  and,  thank  God!  lived  it. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  facing  a  crisis.  From 
my  outlook,  which  is  not  very  great,  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
question  of  providing  for  the  Veteran  Preachers  must  be 
settled  before  we  can  expect  God  to  pour  out  His  blessings 
upon  the  Church.  We  stand  before  a  neglected  duty,  and  if 
we  shrink  back  from  doing  it,  from  putting  on  the  altar  of 
God  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  to  take  care  of  these  men,  God 
will  turn  away  from  us.  I  have  looked  over  the  Conference 
minutes  and  counted  the  number  of  members,  and  have  con- 
sidered their  efforts  year  after  year  and  the  very  few  addi- 
tions to  the  Church,  and  have  asked  myself,  "What  is  the 
matter?     Something  must  be  wrong.^^    And  as  I  have  sur- 

349 


350  THE  l^ETIEED  MINISTER 

veyecl  the  field  and  have  seen  how  little  has  been  done  for  the 
aged  Ministers,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  Church  must 
take  care  of  these  men  or  there  will  be  no  nse  for  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  in  the  future.  God  will  withdraw  His 
blessing  from  her.  We  have  been  very  careful  about  one 
thing;  as  a  friend  expressed  it  concerning  another  Church, 
that  ^^the  people  thought  the  Ministry  should  be  poor  and 
pious,  and,  if  the  Lord  would  keep  the  Preachers  pious,  the 
laymen  would  attend  to  the  other  part  and  keep  them  poor." 

We  are  facing  the  problem  of  raising  five  million  dollars 
for  Conference  Claimants,  a  big  sum,  of  course,  but  not  a 
dollar  a  member  for  our  constituency.  I  wish  that  when 
we  representatives  of  the  Conferences  return  home  we  would 
say:  Here  is  the  plan.  Let  one  hujidred  thousand  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Church  give  fifty  dollars  a  year  for 
five  years.  For  I  would  rather  have  one  hundred  thou- 
sand members  give  fifty  dollars  than  to  have  ten  or  fifteen 
men  give  the  whole  sum.  It  seems  to  me  that  in  our  work 
we  have  expected  to  get  big  sums  from  the  few  rather  than 
small  sums  from  a  great  many.  If  these  men  would 
give  this  money,  the  Lord  would  pour  out  His  blessing  upon 
them  and  upon  the  whole  Church  and  the  problem  of  financ- 
ing all  our  enterprises  would  be  settled.  Fifty  dollars  a 
year  from  one  hundred  thousand  members  can  be  secured. 
We  have  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  our  Conference, 
and  I  believe  that  we  will  not  stop  with  less  than  the  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  and  will  then  go  on  to  half  a  million. 

It  can  be  done.  I  would  like  to  see  this  movement  sweep 
tlirough  Methodism.  The  other  Boards  would  not  become 
poverty-stricken,  but  the  gifts  would  go  next  year  to  some 
other  cause  and  the  next  year  to  another.  There  is  nothing 
that  opens  a  man's  heart  to  the  gospel  so  quickly  or  so  widely 
as  giving  to  the  great  causes  of  the  Church.  But  first  of  all 
we  ought  to  provide  for  the  men  who  made  it  possible  for  us 
to  have  the  Church.  If  one  hundred  thousand  men  during 
this  year  would  lay  fifty  dollars  apiece  upon  the  altar  for 
the  Veterans'  Cause,  I  believe  the  Lord  would  pour  out  such  a 
])lessing  upon  them  tliat  they  could  not  contain  it,  and  it 
would  bubble  over  and  bless  others,  and  we  would  have  such 
revival  as  we  have  not  seen  for  generations.    Let  us  do  it ! 

Williamson,  N.  Y.  J.  L.  Transue. 


THE  1915  CAMPAIGN 

THE  GERMAN  CONFERENCES 

THE  REV.  J.  A.  MULFINGER,  D.D. 

Recording  Secretary 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants 


The  ten  German  Conferences  of  the  IMethodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  America  have  not  heen  dilatory  in  taking  up  the 
matter  of  adequately  caring  for  Conference  Claimants.  For 
a  number  of  years  they  have  been  seeking  to  provide  a  better 
support  for  these  Veterans  of  the  Cross  by  organizing  Preach- 
ers' Aid  Societies  and  building  up  permanent  funds  in  every 
Annual  Conference. 

The  Conferences  in  Germany  were  fortunate  in  having 
men  as  their  founders,  who  from  the  beginning  recognized 
the  importance  of  this  cause,  and  who  instituted  a  pension 
system  by  which  the  Conferences  are  able  to-day  to  grant  an 
adequate  support  based  on  years  of  service  to  ministers  retir- 
ing from  the  effective  ranks.  The  money  needed  to  do  this 
is  derived  from  the  income  of  their  own  Book  Concern  and 
from  Permanent  Funds  which  have  been  accumulating  from 
the  beginning  through  annual  payments  made  by  the  preach- 
ers. Moneys  received  from  other  sources  are  distril)uted 
according  to  need. 

The  German  Conferences  in  this  country  have  adopted 
plans  by  which  they  hope  to  secure  sufficient  funds  to  provide 
fully  for  their  Conference  Claimants.  There  is  a  Permanent 
Fund  in  every  Conference,  the  total  amount  in  1914  being 
$287,800.  The  income  derived  from  these  funds  in  1914 
amounted  to  $1G,000;  but,  in  spite  of  this,  not  a  single  Con- 
ference Claimant  in  the  ten  Conferences  received  last  year  the 
full  annuity  or  pension.  The  average  full  legal  annuity  rate 
was  $10,  but  on  an  average,  only  $3.G1  a  year  was  paid  to 
the  2G7  Conference  Claimants:  123  Retired  Ministers  and 
144  widows  and  dependent  children  of  deceased  preachers. 

351 


352  THE  KETIRED  MINISTER 

The  total  amount  needed  in  1914  by  the  German  Confer- 
ences in  the  United  States  in  order  to  pay  all  claims,  both 
for  annuitants  and  necessitous  cases,  was  $63,300;  and  the 
reports  indicate  that  only  $41,900  of  this  amount  was  paid, 
leaving  a  deficit  of  $31,500.  This  sum  must  be  added  to  the 
annual  resources  before  these  Conferences  can  pay  the  claims 
at  one  hundred  cents  on  the  dollar.  For  this  reason  the 
German  Conferences  are  entering  enthusiastically  into  the 
1915  CAMPAIGN.  They  need  more  money  in  their  Con- 
ference permanent  funds,  producing  a  larger  annual  income 
for  Conference  Claimants;  and  they  must  have  a  larger  in- 
come from  other  sources.  The  total  amount  of  investments 
should  be  increased  to  at  least  $500,000 ;  and  meanwhile  the 
apportionments  to  the  pastoral  charges  should  be  increased 
to  a  sufficient  amount  to  provide  for  the  men  who  are  now 
on  the  Honor  Roll.  As  the  endowment  income  increases  the 
apportionment  can  be  decreased.  If  this  increase  is  made 
the  Conferences  will  be  able  to  fully  meet  all  claims;  but 
we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  number  of  Claimants 
is  slowly  increasing  and  for  that  reason  we  should  greatly 
increase  invested  funds. 

The  German  Conferences  held  in  1914  committed  them- 
selves to  the  great  1915  CAMPAIGN  by  unanimously  in- 
dorsing the  plans  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants 
and  by  inaugurating  a  campaign  within  the  bounds  of  each 
Conference  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  amount  of  per- 
manent funds,  and  also  by  increasing  the  apportionments. 
An  agent  has  been  appointed  in  almost  every  Conference  and 
the  ministers  have  pledged  themselves  to  loyal  support. 

The  rank  and  file  of  the  German  preachers  have  done  heroic 
work  in  laying  foundations  and  extending  the  borders  of  our 
great  Church.  The  pioneers  of  German  Methodism  were 
heroes  who  dared  and  accomplished  great  things  for  God. 
Their  names  are  worthy  of  being  placed  in  the  Hall  of  Fame 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  They  suffered  great 
privations  and  hardships,  and  sacrificed  their  all  upon  the 
altar  of  God  and  the  Church.  The  Church  fully  appreciates 
the  value  of  their  untiring  and  strenuous  labors  in  bringing 
to  the  Germans  arriving  on  our  shores  a  personal  knowledge 
of  the  saving  power  of  Christ  and  getting  them  into  the 
Church. 


GERMAN   CONFERENCES  353 

German  Methodists  are  a  valuable  addition  to  the  entire 
connection,  and  are  nnnil)cred  among  the  most  generous  sup- 
porters of  all  of  our  benevolent  enterprises.  The  pioneer 
preachers  received  a  mere  pittance  for  support;  and  even  at 
the  present  time  the  average  salary  of  the  German  preachers 
IS  hardly  $700.  Still  most  of  them  have  economized  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  become  examples  to  their  flocks  in  benevolent 
offerings;  have  fed  and  clothed  their  usually  large  families, 
and  have  managed  to  give  to  their  children  the  advantage 
of  a  higher  education.  Besides  this  as  a  rule  they  have  laid 
by  a  small  sum  of  money  or  acquired  a  modest  home  for  old 
age.  We  sometimes  marvel  and  ask,  "How  did  thev  ever 
do  it?"  "^ 

We  would  like  to  mention  all  of  the  names  upon  their 
Honor  Roll,  but  space  will  not  allow :  Nast,  Jacoby,  Nuelsen, 
Riemenschneider,  Plank,  Mulfinger,  Kuhl,  Fiegenbaum' 
Kopp,  Rothweiler,  Lyons,  Koch,  all  of  whom  have  joined 
the  great  throng  of  witnesses  before  the  throne  of  God  and 
are  now  a  part  of  the  cloud  of  witnesses  who  rejoice  in  the 
triumphs  of  the  Church.  What  a  heritage  they  have  left! 
What  an  incentive  their  lives  have  been  to  all !  They  do  not 
need  financial  support;  but  others  who  served  with  equal 
heroism  and  fidelity  have  followed  in  their  train  and  are 
now  on  the  retired  list,  waiting  for  the  call  of  the  Master ;  and 
the  Church  owes  to  them  a  comfortable  and  generous  support 
in  old  age.  Are  we  willing  to  pay  this  debt  ?  Will  the  Church 
respond  to  the  Appeal  made  by  the  Bishops  in  their  behalf  ? 
Are  they  at  last  coming  to  their  own? 

We  firmly  believe  that  this  Appeal  will  meet  with  a  gener- 
ous and  loyal  response  from  every  German  member  of  our 
Church,  and  that  the  close  of  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  will  find 
all  German  Conferences  in  position  to  pay  in  full  everv  claim 
of  their  Conference  Claimants. 

We  append  a  table  showing  what  the  German  Conferences 
have  accomplished  in  providing  an  adequate  support  for 
their  Conference  Claimants  and  indicating  their  present 
needs. 

Survey  of  the   German   Conferences,   1914 

In  these  tables  units  are  eliminated  in  the  last  column,  and 
both  tens  and  units  in  the  other  columns. 


354 


THE  RETIRED  MIXISTER 


Column  A  gives  the  amount  necessary  in  order  to  pay 
the  ful]  disciplinary  rate  shown  in  column  D,  plus  the  amount 
that  would  be  needed  for  "necessitous  cases." 

Column  B  includes  all  amounts  for  distribution,  wliatever 
their  source  or  method  of  distribution. 

Column  C  is  the  remainder  obtained  by  sul)tracting  the 
sum  in  column  B  from  the  sum  in  column  A,  and  indicates 
the  shortage  of  the  Conference,  or  its  net  liability. 

Column  D  gives  the  annuity  rate  according  to  If  331  of 
the  Discipline;  and  column  E  gives  the  rate  paid  in  1914  and 
also  the  percentage  of  such  rate  to  the  total  disciplinary  rate. 

Column  F  states  the  amount  of  the  permanent  endowment 
held  by  the  Annual  Conference,  and  column  G  the  amount 
of  the  income  from  such  endowment. 


Name  op 
Conference 

A 

■■s 

B 

o  c  m 

c 

D 

E 

Annual 
Conference 
Permanent     ^ 
Endowment 

G 

ij 

ill 

California 

Central 

Chicago 

East 

Northern  

Northwest  

Pacific 

$3,000 
10,000 
7,800 
8,400 
7,500 
4,000 
2,100 
11,000 
3,600 
5,900 

$1,600 
8,800 
4,400 
4,700 
3,200 
2,600 
1,300 
7,700 
2,300 
5,300 

11,400^0% 
1,200—12% 

3,400-43% 
3,700—44% 
4,300-57% 
1,400—35% 

900-43% 
3,300—30% 
1,300—36% 

600—12% 

$10.00 
9.00 
10.00 
13.66 
10.50 
10.00 
9.00 
9.00 
9.00 
9.00 

$2.00-20% 
4.00-44% 
2.26-22% 
3.64—26% 
5.20-50% 
2.08-21% 
5 .  80—64% 
3.50-38% 
4.55-50% 
3.10-35% 

$12,800 
55,300 
49,000 
33,300 
19,400 
21,800 

5,200 
50,000 

5,000 
31,000 

£130 
4,  too 
1,400 
2,350 
1.030 
1,U0 
2.0 
2,880 

Southern 

West  

320 
1,400 

Total  

63,300 

41,900 

21,500 

9.91 

3.61—37% 

287,800  16.110 

Chicago,  111. 


J.   A.    MULFIXGER. 


EIN  WOHLVERDIEN- 
TER  LOHN 

THE  REV.  ADAM  J.  LOEPPERT,  D.D. 

Chicago  German  Conference 


"Was  lange  wahrt,  wird  endlich  gut/'  so  mag  mancher 
ausrufen,  der  nun  wahrnimmt,  wie  die  Yeteranen  im  Pre- 
digtamte  der  Bischoflichen  Method!  stenkirche  zu  ihrem 
Eechte  kommen  und  ihnen  ein  wohlverdienter  Lohn  winkt. 
Die  Kirche  ist  erwacht,  wie  noeh  nie  vorher;  dem  verdienst- 
yollen  Veteran,  der  zu  seiner  Zeit  in  der  Vollkraft  der  Jahre 
in  den  vordersten  Eeihen  der  heissen  Schlacht  gekampft, 
dabei  aber  nieistens  sich  und  die  Seinen  vergessen  hat,  will 
sie  ihre  Dankesschuld  bezahlen,  sodass  ihm  der  Lebensabend 
nicht  in  bangen  Sorgen  ins  Auge  starrt.  Die  Kirche  mit 
ihren  erkenntlichen  Gliedern  am  Leibe  Jesu  Christi  hat 
diese  edlen  Helden  in  den  heiligen  Dienst  des  Predigtamtes 
berufen.  Dem  Ruf  der  Kirche  so  wie  dem  unwiderstehlichen 
Rufe  Gottes  folgten  sie  und  weihten  sich  ausschliesslich  der 
heiligen  Arbeit.  Nie  erwartete  die  Kirche  von  ihnen,  dass 
sie  sich  in  Yerbindung  mit  ihrer  Arbeit  weltlichen  Geschiiften 
widmen  sollten,  denn  das  Predigtamt  ist  ganz  naturgemiiss 
kein  weltlicher  Beruf.  Gott  verstand  auch  nie  darunter,  dass 
seine  Knechte  im  Ueberfluss  oder  gar  im  Luxus  leben  sollten, 
no  eh  dass  die  Dinge  dieser  Erde  ihre  Zeit,  Kriifte  und 
Gedanken  in  Anspruch  nahmen.  Um  das  Letztere  zu  ver- 
hiiten,  ist  es  flir  unsere  Kirche  von  grosster  Wichtigkeit  und 
ihre  heiligste  Pflicht,  diesem  dienstunfahigen  Soldaten,  wenn 
er  auch  in  aktiver  Tiitigkeit  viel  Selbstverleugnung  geiibt 
hat,  einen  sorgeufreicn  Lcbensal)end  zu  gewiihren,  sodass 
er  nicht  der  notweudigsten  Lel)ensl)ediirfnisse  wegen  dar])en 
muss,  oder  wenn  er  gar  schon  vorzeitig  von  seiner  Arbeit 
abgerufcn  wird,  seine  sich  aufoi)fornde  Gattin  und  seine 
Kinder  von  der  Gnade  und  Barmherzigkeit  der  Kirche 
abhiingig  sind,  der  er  selbstaufopfernd  gedient  liat. 

Keine   andere    Kirchengemeinschaft    fordert   so    viel    von 

355 


356  THE  KETlPtED  MINISTER 

ihren  Predigern  unci  dcren  Familien  Avie  die  Methodistcn- 
kirche,  zumal  wenn  man  das  Eeisepredigtamt  mit  seinen 
Freuden  und  Leiden  in  Betracht  zieht.  So  sollte  es  auch 
gar  nicht  schwierig  sein,  die  Frage  aufzuwerfen  nnd  zu 
beantworten:  "Worin  bestehen  die  Verdienste  unserer 
Veteranen  ?" 

Die  Methodistenprediger  sind  den  einzelnen  Seelen  nach- 
gegangen.  Beobachte  unsere  dentschen  Pioniere.  Die  Ein- 
wanderer  waren  entweder  lutherisch,  reformient  oder  katho- 
lisch;  mit  personlichen  Erfahrnngschristentum  waren  sie 
nicht  bekannt.  So  reiste  der  Prediger  oft  dreissig,  vierzig 
oder  gar  flinfzig  Meilen  weit  auf  den  Prarien  und  in  den 
Urwaldern  herum,  snchte  die  einzelnen  dentsclien  Familien 
auf  und  war  zeitweilig  wochenlang  von  seiner  Familie  fort. 
Ivein  Stnrm  nnd  Ungemach  storte  ihn  in  seiner  herrliehen 
xlrbeit,  denn  ^'Seelen  retten  war  sein  Beruf"  nnd  "Welie  ihm, 
wenn  er  das  Evangelinm  nicht  den  armen  Siindern  brachte." 
Er  setzte  oft  sein  Leben  aufs  Spiel  in  der  Organisation  dcr 
ersten  Gemeinden  nnd  musste  unermiidlich  arbeiten,  bis 
die  jnnge,  doch  bald  kraftige,  Pflanze  zum  starken  Baum 
herangewachsen  war,  nnter  dessen  Schatten  die  hentige 
Generation  wohnen  kann.  Doch  darf  hier  nicht  vergessen 
werden,  dass  es  hente  eben  so  schwer  ist,  den  Baum  zu 
pfiegen,  und  die  einzelnen  Seelen  dlirfen  nicht  vernachliissigt 
werden. 

Unsere  Veteranen  waren  immer  reich  an  Werken  dcr  Liebe 
und  der  Barmherzigkeit.  Man  denke  doch  an  die  Armut 
der  Deutschen  vor  flinfzig  Jahren.  Wie  gross  war  die  Not. 
Die  Glieder  der  einzelnen  Gemeinden  sind  im  Laufe  der  Jahre 
wohlhabend  geworden,  doch  der  Prediger,  der  seinen  gerin^;en 
Besitz  immer  wieder  mit  den  Aermsten  teilte,  die  an  seine 
Tlire  kamen,  blieb  arm.  Der  brave  Mann  dachte  an  sich 
zuletzt  und  dann  war's  zu  spat.  Nie  hat  er  den  Bottler  ein 
i^lmosen  verweigert,  auch  hatte  er  stets  ein  Bett  und  Zimmer 
flir  den  fremden  oder  befreundeten  Gast,  wenn  man  sich 
auch  wundern  musste,  wo  der  geistliche  Herr  und  seine 
Familie  die  Nacht  zubrachten.  tlnd  wie  viel  hat  er  erst 
flir  das  Werk  der  heiligen  Mission  und  Wohltatigkeitsbestre- 
bungen  aller  Art  getan?  Er  hat  als  Mittel  des  Heiligen 
Geistes  den  ersten  Trieb  in  den  strebsamen  Knaben  hin- 
eingelegt,   sich  dem  Werke  der  Heidenmission  zu  widmen. 


EIT\^  AVOHLVERDIENTEK  LOHN"  357 

Das  ])liiheiide  Wcrk  in  DeiTtsehlniid  uiid  dor  Seliweiz  verdankt 
ihm  scm'ikmi  Anfaiig.  Er  legte  den  Cjmnd  zu  unsercn  Seliiilen 
iind  Ijcliranstalten.  Wer  hatte  an  Waiscnhiiuser  oder  gar 
Altenheiniaten  gedacht  "und  dicsel1)en  nach  ihrer  Griindung 
unterstiitzt  und  deren  Interessen  vertreten,  wenn  es  nicht 
fiir  jene  Yeteranen,  die  damals  noch  in  ihrer  Vollkraft  des 
Lebens  standen,  gewesen  ware? 

Und  in  den  Werken  der  Wohltatigkeit,  der  Griindung  von 
Anstalten  aller  Art,  das  jiingste  Kind,  die  edle  Sache  der 
Diakonie,  durchaus  nicht  zu  vergessen,  hat  der  Prediger  nie 
karglich  gesat,  noeh  sparlich  gegeben,  sondern  immer  iiber 
Bitten  und  Yerstehen  und  haufig  weit  liber  seine  Krafte 
hinaus.  In  der  Sammlung  der  Missionsgelder  ging  er  mit 
guten  Bei spiel  voran  und  in  den  Unterschriften  flir  den 
Bau  neuer  Kirchen,  Fundierung  von  Lehrstlihlen  und  in 
Ausstattung  von  Krankenzimmern  in  Hospitalern  stand  sein 
Name  nicht  unten  in  der  Liste. 

Sie  haben  ihre  Arbeit  unter  grossen  Selbstverleugnungen 
getan.  Sie  batten  versprochen,  zu  gehen,  wohin  die  Kirche 
sie  sendet.  Und  mit  dem  Eesultat  waren  sie  fast  ausnahmslos 
zu  frieden.  Ein  andrer  Arbeiter  kann  ja  nach  Belieben  seine 
Arbeit  oder  seinen  Wohnplatz  wahlen;  nicht  so  der  Meth- 
odistenprediger.  Er  muss  bleiben.  Wehe  ihm,  wenn  er  das 
Evangelium  nicht  predigt.  Uiid  wer  denkt  an  die  Yerluste 
beim  Ziehen?  Wer  an  die  Opfer  der  Predigerkinder  in  den 
AVechsel  der  Schulen  und  die  Argusaugen,  die  an  ihnen 
immer  nur  Zielscheiben  der  Kritik  sehen?  Wer  erst  an  die 
Opfer  der  edlen  Predigersf rauen  ?  Und  ich  wage  hier  zu 
behaupten,  dass  ihre  Arbeit  und  ihre  Opferwilligkeit  heute 
wie  vor  dreissig  oder  flinfzig  Jahren,  der  ihrer  Manner  eben- 
blirtig  zur  Seite  steht,  wenn  sie  dieselbe  in  vieler  Beziehung 
nicht  gar  liberragt.  Nimmermehr  will  unsere  grossherzige 
Kirche  dieser  edlen  Schaar  der  tapfersten  Frauen,  die  je 
unter  Christi  Kreuzesfahne  kilmpfte,  die  Sorgenlast  noch 
erschweren,  sondern  die  Steine  aus  dem  AVege  rJiumen  und 
ihnen  den  wohlverdienten  Lohn  ge])en.  Tausende  unserer 
besten  Glieder  und  Familien  in  der  Kirche  haben  es  niichst 
dem  lieben  Gott  den  Predigern  zu  verdanken,  dass  sie  sind, 
was  sie  sind. 

Die  Methodistenkirche  hat  etwa  3,000  ausgediente  Predi- 
ger, 3,000  Predigerswittwen  und  300  Predigerwaisenkinder, 


358  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

in  rundor  Summe  (),300  Personen,  die  von  der  MildtJitigkeit 
der  Kirche  aMiangi^i;  sind  fiir  iliren  oan/en  odor  tcilwcisen 
Lebonsiinterhalt.  Und  wie  blutet  den  Konferenzverwaltern 
oft  das  lierz,  wenn  sie  nielit  reichlicli  geben  konnen,  soiideiMi 
kiirglich  geben  miissen,  da  nicht  Mittel  genug  vorbanden 
waren.  Nun  ist  aber  die  Kirche  zu  ihrer  Verantwortlichkeit 
erwacht,  sodass  diese  TJnterstiitzung  in  Zukunft  keine  Mild- 
tiitigkeitsgabe  sondern  ein  wohlverdienter  Lohn  und  berech- 
tigte  Pension  ist,  sodass  bald  ein  jeder  altersschwaclie  Predi- 
ger  wenigstens  die  Halfte  seines  jahrlichen  Durchschnitts- 
gehaltes  audi  jahrlich  als  wohlverdienten  Lohn  erhalte.  Die 
Generalkonferenz  von  1912  hat  einen  Feldzug  unternommen, 
die  Behorde  unserer  altersschwachen  Prediger  und  ebenfalls 
die  Bischofe  haben  denselben  gutgeheissen,  nach  welchem 
im  Jahre  1915  fiinf  Millionen  Dollars  als  stehendes  Kapital 
in  den  verschiedenen  Konferenzen  unserer  Kirche  gesammelt 
werden  sollen,  ein  Fonds,  der  Zinsen  genug  abwerfen  dlirfte, 
um  den  berechtigten  Anspriichen  gerecht  werden  zu  konnen. 

Dr.  Joseph  B.  Hingeley,  der  unermiidliche  korrespondier- 
ende  Sekretiir  der  Behorde  fiir  Konferenzanspruchhabende, 
verrichtet  eine  edle  Arbeit  und  setzt  sich  in  derselben  ein 
Lebensmonument,  indem  er  als  weiser  Stratege  vorangeht, 
den  wohlverdienten  Lohn  auf  eine  sichere  Basis  zu  bringen. 
Und,  Gott  sei  Dank,  die  Kirche  bleibt  nicht  gefiihllos.  Die 
Laien  sind  gerne  bereit,  sich  die  Frage  vorzulegen :  "Was 
kann  ich  tun?"  Dadurch  erfiillen  wix  nur  ein  gottliches 
Gesetz.  Vom  Stamme  Levi  erwartete  das  Volk  und  der  Herr, 
dass  er  sich  vom  Zehnten  nahren  sollte,  nachdem  er  seine 
ganze  Zeit  und  Kraft  dem  Dienste  der  alttestamentlichen 
Kirche  weihte.  Jesus  sagte  bestimmt:  "Der  Arbeiter  ist 
seines  Lohnes  wert."  Je  naher  wir  diesem  gottlichen 
Prinzipe  kommen,  desto  eher  konnen  wir  als  Kirche  erwarten, 
dass  die  Knechte  Gottes  ihre  ganze  Zeit  und  Kraft  dem 
jetzigen  Geschlecht  widmen.  Auch  wird  die  Rlickwirkung 
auf  die  Kirche  selbst  eine  wohltuende  sein,  indem  nicht  nur 
das  Predigtamt  gebiihrend  geehrt  und  geachtet  wird,  sondern 
unsere  Jiinglinge  werden  bereitwilliger  dem  Rufe  Gottes 
folgen,  ihr  Leben  in  den  Dienst  des  grossten  Herrn  zu  stellen. 
Und  ware  ein  soldi  wohlverdienter  Lohn  nicht  des  gross- 
ten  Opfers  wert? 

Chicago,  111.  Adam  J.  Loeppert. 


THE  1915  CAMPAIGN 

THE  SWEDISH  CONFERENCES 

THE  REV.  HERMAN  YOUNG 

Eastern  Swedish  Conference 


We  have  in  this  country  six  Swedish  Methodist  I'^piseopal 
Conferences  with  a  church  meml)ership  of  over  twenty  thou- 
sand; with  twenty-two  thousand  Sunday  school  schohirs  and 
one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  ministers.  The  Conference 
Claimants  funds  of  the  six  Conferences  amount  to  $29,300. 
A  great  many  of  our  Retired  Ministers  and  many  now  in 
effective  work  lahored  for  years  in  connection  with  English 
speaking  Conferences,  and  when  we  started  our  own  Confer- 
ences we  came  with  empty  hands.  The  Eastern  Swedish 
Conference,  only  fourteen  years  old,  has  memhers  who  have 
been  in  effective  work  between  thirty  and  thirty-eight  years. 

In  our  six  Conferences  we  have  twenty-three  superannuated 
ministers  and  about  the  same  number  of  widows  and  de- 
pendent children.     The  collections  last  year  were  $3,330. 

The  average  salary  of  the  several  Conferences  varies 
greatly;  but  that  of  all  the  Swedish  preachers  in  this  country 
is  about  $700,  which  fixes  the  full  claim  after  thirty-five  years 
of  service  at  $350,  or  ten  dollars  per  year.  Most  of  our  Con- 
ferences now  pay  full  rate.  That  this  is  in  many  cases  insuffi- 
cient, I  do  not  need  to  say,  as  many  of  our  brethren  have  not 
been  able  to  lay  aside  anything  for  old  age,  and  most  of  the 
preachers  now  in  the  work  are  barely  able  to  support  their 
families,  even  by  the  exercise  of  the  strictest  economy.  The 
seemingly  dark  prospect  for  the  sure  oncoming  of  old  age  has 
been  the  reason  why  several  of  our  ministers  have  left  our 
ranks,  and,  although  we  do  not  approve  of  their  course,  the 
fact  still  remains  and  the  remedy  must  be  found.  We 
are  a  part  of  the  great  Church,  and  because  Christian  work 
must  be  carried  on  in  America  in  the  Swedish  language  for 
years  to  come,  we  believe  that  Methodism  should  not  give  over 
the  field  to  others,  but  should  continue  to  carry  on  our  work. 

359 


360  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

The  question  is  not  whether  religious  work  is  to  be  carried 
on  in  America  in  the  Swedish  language,  but  whether  the 
gospel  according  to  Methodist  doctrine  and  principles  shall 
be  proclaimed  in  that  tongue  or  whether  we  will  allow  othci' 
denominations  to  do  the  work  which  God  has  providentially 
given  us,  or  allow  religious  fakirs  to  ensnare  our  people.  But 
in  order  to  continue  our  work  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  the  brethren  who  enter  our  ministry,  many  of  whom 
are  born  in  this  country  and  have  good  opportunities  in  other 
lines  of  work,  must  feel  that  there  is  security  for  their  future. 

Because  many  of  our  people  are  of  the  toilers  with  little 
hope  of  independence  in  old  age,  the  Claimants  pension  idea 
has  not  been  and  is  not  received  as  hospitably  as  it  should  be, 
but  we  hope  that  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  will  reach  the  Swedish 
Methodists  and  be  the  means  of  awakening  them  to  their 
responsibilities  and  duty  in  this  respect. 

May  14,  1915,  will  be  the  seventieth  anniversary  of  the  day 
when  the  first  Swedish  Methodist  minister,  the  Rev.  0.  G. 
Hedstrom  of  the  New  York  Conference,  preached  his  first 
Swedish  sermon  in  the  old  Bethel  ship  "John  Wesley"  which 
lay  in  New  York  harbor  and  thereby  started  the  work  of 
Methodism  among  the  Swedish  people  of  America;  and  I 
hope  that  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  year  of  American 
Methodism  and  the  seventieth  anniversary  of  Swedish-Amer- 
ican Methodism  may  be  made  forever  notable  as  the  year  in 
which  the  claims  of  all  the  Veteran  Preachers  will  be  met. 

At  a  general  convention  of  Swedish  Methodist  Ministers, 
held  at  Evanston,  111.,  last  June,  and  attended  by  represen- 
tative ministers  and  laymen  from  all  our  Conferences,  a  plan 
was  presented  and  discussed  as  to  the  possibility  of  uniting 
the  invested  funds  of  all  our  Conferences  and  paying  claims 
of  all  our  Retired  Ministers  according  to  the  average  salary  of 
all  the  effective  preachers  which,  as  stated  above,  is  $700. 
Such  an  arrangement  would  be  a  help  in  case  of  transfers 
from  one  Conference  to  another,  which  are  more  frequent 
among  us  than  in  the  English-speaking  Conferences,  and 
would  bind  us  more  closely  together  in  all  our  work.  We  re- 
joice in  our  meml)ership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  confidentlv  expect  that  all  our  congregations  will  fall  into 
line  with  the  1915  CAMPAIGN. 

422  Dean  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Herman  Youxg. 


VOR  GJELD  TIL  DE 

UDTJENTE  PREDI- 

KANTER 

H.  K.  MADSEN 

Norwegian  an  I  Danish  Conference 


Fra  den  amenkanske  borgerkrig  fortelles  f0lgende  historie : 
En  dag  koni  general  Grant  marscherende  med  sine  batallioner 
forbi  en  liden  hytte,  beboet  af  en  gammel  kvinde.  Da  hun 
fik  0ie  paa  soldaterne,  styrtet  hun  ud  med  ildrageren  paa 
sin  skulder  og  fylket  sig  ind  i  geledet.  Soldaterne  lo  og 
spurgte,  hvad  hun  vilde :  "Aa,"  sa  den  gamle,  "kan  jeg  ikke 
gj0re  mere,  saa  kan  jeg  da  vise,  paa  hvilken  side  jeg  staar, 
for  eller  imod  slavetrafiken."  Hun  tog  et  standpunkt,  og 
det  er  ikke  saa  lidet.  Dersom  alle  mennesker  vilde  ta  et 
standpunket,  saa  vilde  verdn  bli  meget  bedre,  og  iser  om  de 
lig  denne  kvinde  tog  det  rette. 

For  nerverende  kalder  vor  elskede  kirke,  gjennem  raadet 
for  konferencefordringshavere,  paa  sine  s0nner  og  d0tre  for 
at  samle  et  fond  paa  5  millioner  dollars  til  fordel  for  de 
udtjente  predikanter  og  deres  efterladte.  De  fieste  af  kirkens 
aarskonferencer  har  sluttet  sig  til  denne  velsignelsesrige 
bevegelse,  der  staar  under  den  i  alle  henseender  dygtige,  og 
serlig  for  denne  sag  saa  vel  kvalificerede  mands  ledelse,  Dr. 
Joseph  Hingeley,  hovedsekreteren  for  raadet  for  konference- 
fordringshavere. 

Som  norsk-danske  methodister  raader  vi  ikke  over  store 
midler;  men  om  vi  kun  vil  gj0re,  som  kvinden  gjorde,  fylke 
OS  ind  i  geledet,  stille  os  paa  den  rette  side,  bli  med  i 
bevegelsen  for  det  store  maal,  en  sorgl0s  alderdom  for  de 
udtjente  predikanter,  og  gj0re  det  lille  vi  kan,  saa  er  det 
alt,  som  ventes  af  os. 

Vi  maa  vere  med.  Pligten  byder  os;  thi  vi  skydder  de 
udtjente  predikanter  saa  uendelig  meget.  Vi  skylder  dem 
respekt  og  agtelse  for  den  store  gjerning,  de  har  udf0rt.  Vi 
skylder  dem  beundring  og  kjerlighed  for  deres  store  opof reiser 
og  noble  virke.    Husk  dog,  vi  skal  ikke  elske  bare  med  store 

361 


362  THE  IJETIEED  MINISTER 

ord  og  vakre  fraser,  men  i  handling,  og  derfor  skylder  kirken 
dem  et  sorg0st  livsophold  paa  deres  ganile  dage. 

Tenk  paa,  hvad  disse  veteraner  har  of  ret!  De  har  tjent 
kirken  og  sine  medmennesker  hele  sit  liv  for  en  liden  l0n, 
saa  de  ofte  har  maattet  negte  sig  og  sine  det  mest  n0dvendige. 
De  fieste  af  dem  har  veret  ndrustet  med  evner  og  nddannelse, 
saa  de  kunde  fyldt  vigtige  og  l0nnende  stillinger  i  samfundet. 
Men  de  agtet  alt  for  skarn  at  vere  mod  ypperligheden  af  at 
forkynde  Kristi  e\  angelium.  Det  er  derfor  kirkens  usvigelige 
pligt  at  s0rge  for  dem,  naar  de  ikke  lengere  kan  gj0re  det  selv. 

Nogle  vil  muligens  sige,  de  gamle  prester  har  tjent  ligesaa 
meget,  som  de  fieste  af  os.  Meget  mulig ;  men  glem  saa  ikke, 
at  medens  de  var  i  arheidet  for  Gud  og  kirken,  blev  mange 
krav  stillet  til  dem,  som  var  forbundet  med  store  udgifter. 
De  var  kirkens  representanter  og  maattee  altid  vere  pent  og 
anstendige  kledte.  Deres  hjem  var  gjestfrie  med  stadig 
dekkede  horde.  Folket  kom  og  gik.  Yar  nogen  i  n0d,  saa 
gik  de  ikke  prestens  d0r  forbi.  Til  ham  kom  de  f0rst,  og 
ofte  maatte  han  laane  for  at  hjelpe  andre.  Heraf  forstaaes 
let,  at  det  var  omtrent  umuligt  at  legge  noget  tilside  for 
alderdommens  dage. 

De  gav,  hvad  de  havde.  Muligens  de  ofte  maatte  sige: 
"Guld  og  s0lv  har  jeg  ikke;  men  hvad  jeg  har,  det  giver  jeg 
dig.^^  De  gav  et  fuldt  evangelinm,  som  reddet  mange  fra 
synd  og  fattigdom,  saa  de  er  rige  idag,  medens  mange  af 
de  gamle  predikanter  er  lige  fattige  som  f0r.  De  gav  et  rent 
liv,  der  virket  som  et  bevarende  salt  i  kommunen  og  sam- 
fundet. De  gav  sin  sympati  og  kjerlighed,  sine  smil  og  sine 
taarer.  De  gav  alt,  sine  evner  og  krefter  for  at  l0fte  folket 
paa  det  religi0se,  intllektuelle  og  materielle  omraade.  Med 
andre  ord  de  gav  sig  selv  for  andres  vel. 

Derfor  b0r  kirken  si  til  disse  gamle  hedersmend:  Guld 
og  s0lv  det  gir  vi  nu  dig !  saa  du  kan  sidde  lunt  og  ubekymret 
paa  dine  gamle  dage  ved  din  hjemlige  arne  og  erf  are  sand- 
heden  af  Jesu  ord :  "S0g  f  0rst  Guds  rige  og  bans  retferdighed, 
saa  skal  alle  andre  ting  gives  eder.^' 

Saa  kom  da,  venner,  og  tag  et  kraftig  tag  i  det  store  l0ft 
for  det  felles  maal,  saa  ogsaa  vore  egne  udtjente  predikanter, 
deres  enker  og  l)arn  kan  se  en  lysere  fremtid  im0de. 

H.  K.  Madsen. 

2108  N".  Sawyer  Avenue,  Chicago,  111. 


THE  1915  CAMPAIGN 

(  OLORED  CONFERENCES 

THE  REV.  W.  H.  DEAN,  D.D. 

Washington  Conference 


Every  race  is  dependent  upon  its  leaders;  no  race  more 
than  ours.  For  our  race  there  are  few  libraries,  no  highly 
developed  press,  no  superior  schools,  no  large  learned  class. 
Therefore,  for  their  opinions  and  their  religious  and  literary 
ideals,  the  masses  are  dependent  upon  their  preachers,  who 
are  indispensable  to  the  growth  of  the  Church  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  people.  The  masses  have  been  led  always  by  a 
small  but  powerful  class  of  thinkers,  and  more  and  more  we 
are  to  be  led  by  the  men  of  our  own  race.  Only  trained  and 
trusted  leaders  can  adjust  the  colored  race  to  the  peculiar 
conditions  among  which  their  lives  must  be  spent. 

But  the  preacher  cannot  live  on  earth,  and  board  in  heaven. 
He  has  a  right  to  and  must  have  a  "comfortable  support." 
He  must  be  able  to  lay  by  something  for  the  "rainy  day,"  or 
the  Church  which  insists  on  the  devotion  of  all  his  time,  talent 
and  means  to  its  work  must  see  that  his  old  age  is  secure.  He 
must  dress  himself  and  family,  and  educate  his  children;  he 
must  keep  the  choicest  literature  of  the  day  in  his  library, 
and  he  Me  to  study  and  preach  without  the  distraction^ of 
worldly  cares.     Gospel  ministers  "must  live  of  the  gospel."  ^ 

But  if  the  man  in  the  active  ranks  must  be  taken  care  oi, 
much  more  must  the  Church  provide  for  the  minister  when 
he  is  retired.  This  too  is  imperative.  The  Church  must  not 
let  the  wolf  of  hunger  snarl  at  the  Veteran  Minister's  door. 

The  colored  Conferences,  nineteen  in  number  in  this  coun- 
try, are  doing  relatively  little  for  the  support  of  their  Con- 
ference Claimants.  Claimants  are  many,  and  their  needs 
great,  but  for  the  most  part  they  are  dependent  for  their  sup- 
port on  the  connectional  help  furnished  by  The  Book  Concern, 
the  Chartered  Fund  and  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants. 
Tn  the  colored  Conferences  the  permanent  investments  for 

363 


364  THE  EETTKED  MINISTER 

Conference  Claimants  do  not  amount  to  $1,500,  and  when 
you  consider  what  these  same  Conferences  do  along  other 
lines,  it  is  clear  that  this  ought  not  so  to  he.  Dr.  E.  C. 
Clemans,  field  representative  of  the  Board,  is  now  meeting 
important  groups  of  the  preachers  with  the  proposition  that 
the  colored  Conferences  unite  to  raise  an  endowment  fund 
of  $100,000;  the  money  to  be  held  in  trust  by  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  and  to  be  administered  in  behalf  of 
the  contributing  Conferences.  The  Board  will  pay  at  least 
five  per  cent  on  the  money  invested,  the  income  to  be  paid 
to  the  several  Conferences  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of 
money  to  their  credit. 

The  Conferences  of  Methodism  now  have  invested  funds 
amounting  to  $4,000,000  and  are  increasing  them  to  $15,- 
000,000.  By  the  arrangement  proposed,  the  colored  Con- 
ferences also  may  have  invested  funds.  The  income  from  them 
will  be  a  very  helpful  addition  to  the  present  income.  The 
$100,000  invested  by  the  Board  for  the  colored  Conferences 
will  secure  the  future  support  of  all  the  preachers  and  will 
mean  even  more  to  the  men  in  the  effective  ranks  than  those 
who  are  to-day  on  the  retired  list.  For  example,  the  South 
Carolina  Conference  has  been  receiving  a  dividend  from  the 
Board  amounting  to  $300.  If  that  great  Conference  had 
$10,000  to  its  credit  in  the  Permanent  Fund,  it  would  an- 
nually receive  at  least  $500  in  addition  to  the  $300,  making 
a  total  of  $800.  The  perpetuity  and  safety  of  the  funds  would 
be  guaranteed.  The  Bishops  who  have  colored  Conferences 
in  their  areas  have  endorsed  the  plan  for  the  $100,000  endow- 
ment fund.  Several  Conferences  have  appointed  commis- 
sions which  are  to  report  plans  at  the  next  session  of  the 
Conferences,  so  that  the  1915  CAMPAIGN"  may  begin  im- 
mediately after  adjournment.  It  is  intended  to  raise  this  en- 
dowment not  so  much  by  collections  as  by  subscriptions  from 
the  well-to-do,  both  white  and  colored,  by  bequests  in  wills, 
real  estate  holdings  and  by  the  sale  of  Life  Annuity  Bonds. 
In  this  way  the  colored  Conferences  will  swing  into  line  and 
will  have  a  share  in  the  results.  The  nineteen  colored  Con- 
ferences will  surely  join  in  this  great  movement;  and  the 
money  will  be  raised.  Let  the  slogan  be:  One  Hundred 
Thousand  Dollars  for  the  Veterans  of  the  colored  Conferences. 

Washington,  D.  C.  W.  H.  Dean. 


COOPERATION 

THE    BISHOPS 
BISHOP  THOMAS  B.  NEELY,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


You  do  not  need  to  be  told  that  you  can  count  on  the 
Bishops  for  leadership  or  anything  else  they  can  do  to  for- 
ward the  great  work  of  securing  an  adequate  support  for 
Conference  Claimants.  They  are  already  interested,  and  have 
already  expressed  themselves  as  they  did  at  their  meeting  in 
May.  They  will  take  any  burden  that  you  may  put  on  them 
that  they  can  possibly  carry.  A  new  book  by  me  was  printed 
this  year  called  the  Minister  in  the  Itinerant  System,  and  the 
principles  laid  dow^n  in  that  book  stand  back  of  the  work  that 
you  have  before  you  at  this  time.  A  good  deal  is  being  said 
about  the  layman,  and  I  would  not  discount  him  in  any  par- 
ticular, but  we  must  not  discount  the  Minister.  The  Minister 
is  the  great  business  man  of  the  Church,  the 'most  important 
factor  and  the  only  indispensable  factor  of  the  Church;  and 
he  ought  to  be  made  to  know  when  he  enters  the  Ministry  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  that  he  has  certain  things 
guaranteed  to  him,  and  that  the  Church  will  keep  its  word  to 
the  very  letter. 

In  the  first  place,  he  is  entitled  to  equitable  treatment 
in  the  matter  of  his  appointment  whether  he  has  a  call  from 
an  official  Board  or  not.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  administrator 
to  give  the  Preacher  his  rightful  place,  if  it  is  withm  the 
possibilities,  and  to  treat  him  equital)ly  in  the  matter  of  his 
appointment. 

In  the  second  place  he  has  the  guaranty  of  the  Church  to 
a  fair  support;  not  to  a  salary,  ])ut  to  a  "comfortable  support'^ 
and  that  also  means  equity  of  treatment.  He  must  be  paid 
what  he  deserves,  what  his  family  needs,  and  what  the  people 
are  able  to  give.    A  fair  support  will  cover  all  these  things.  ^ 

In  the  third  place,  he  has  a  guaranty  that  when  he  is 
retired  he  shall  have  an  annuity  or  pension  from  the  funds 

365 


366  THE  EETIKED  MINISTER 

for  the  support  of  Conference  Claimants.  The  Churcli 
promises  this  and  the  laymen  must  underwrite  this  guaranty 
by  providing  permanent  investments  sufficient  to  make  the 
annuity  pension  j)romised  in  the  Discipline  a  dependable 
pension.  The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  and  the  1915 
Jubilee  Gift  of  $10,000,000  must  be  underwritten  by  the 
whole  Church.  I  frequently  use  the  word  "superannuate" 
because  it  is  a  notion  of  mine  that  the  word  "superannuate" 
for  a  Pastor  is  more  honorable  than  "retired";  retired  is  the 
proper  word  for  an  officer,  but  it  is  not  the  proper  word  for 
a  Minister  who  has  rendered  service.  The  word  "superan- 
nuate" shows  that  he  has  rendered  service  for  all  the  years, 
and  more,  that  he  was  expected  to  give  effective  service ;  and 
it  is  therefore  as  Bishop  Merrill  declared  in  1904,  "an  honor- 
able title."    Eetired  does  not  necessarily  mean  the  same. 

The  law  declares  that  a  certain  amount  of  money  should 
go  to  a  Minister  as  an  annuity,  or  pension  based  on  his 
years  of  service.  The  annuity  or  pension  ought  to  be  absolute, 
and  just  as  a  veteran  soldier  takes  his*  pension  without 
anybody  putting  him  through  an  inquisition  as  to  whether 
he  has  a  few  dollars  or  a  shack  somewhere,  so  should  the 
Veteran  Preacher  receive  annuity  on  years  of  service  without 
any  impertinent  or  insulting  inquisition.  It  is  not  fair  when 
the  law  says  to  the  Preacher,  "You  will  get  your  annuity  in 
proportion  to  your  service,"  for  the  Annual  Conference  not 
to  let  him  have  that  amount  or  any  amount  on  that  basis. 
He  may  not  always  take  it,  but  it  is  his  by  right,  and  nobody 
has  any  business  to  ask  him  to  disclose  how  much  money  he 
may  have  buried  in  an  old  stocking,  or  invested  elsewhere. 
The  Church  must  see  to  it  that  when  a  young  Minister  enters 
the  Ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  he  will  be 
sure  that  nothing  shall  cut  him  out  of  his  annuity,  and  that 
his  support  shall  be  as  "dependable"  as  the  Church  of  God 
wdiich  promised  it. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  Thomas  B.  Xeely. 


COOPERATION, 

DISTRICT  SUPERINTENDENTS 

THE  REV.  FRANK  P.  PARKIN,  D.D. 

District    Superintendfrit  Central    District 
Philadelphia  Conference 


Inasmuch  as  the  11)15  CAMPAIGN  for  five  million  dollars 
was  formally  a|)i)roved  at  the  spring  Conference  of  the 
Bishops  held  in  Philadelphia,  it  is  not  inappropriate  that  a 
District  Superintendent  from  the  city  of  "Brotherly  Love" 
should  appear  on  this  Inauguration  Program  which  is  so 
full  of  expressions  of  love  for  our  Retired  Ministers. 

The  District  Superintendent  becomes  more  and  more  essen- 
tial to  all  aggressive  movements  in  Methodism.  Thought- 
ful and  discriminating  students  of  our  history  and  polity, 
and  observers  of  the  evolution  now  being  wrought  in  our 
Church  by  the  assignment  of  Bishops  to.  residential  areas, 
are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  this  office  is  destined  to 
become  more  and  more  influential. 

The  corresponding  secretaries  of  all  our  great  Church 
boards  clearly  recognize  the  fact.  The  following  statement, 
which  appears  at  the  very  head  of  a  recent  communication 
sent  out  by  one  of  our  keenest  and  most  far-seeing  secre- 
taries, voices  their  attitude :  "No  group  of  men  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  have  so  signal  an  opportunity  in  this 
age  to  do  the  Church  a  great  service  as  the  District  Superin- 
tendents. You  are  becoming  increasingly  the  key-men  to 
whom  the  Church  must  look  for  generalship  in  pushing  its 
advance  measures  mto  the  last  church." 

Assuming,  therefore,  that  this  apt  phrase  'Iceij-men"  justly 
characterizes  the  District  Superintendents  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  it  follows,  both  logically  and  actually,  that 
unless  they  shall  be  genuinely  and  enthusiastically  enlisted 
in  this  campaign,  little  of  a  practical  character  will  be  done. 

What  can  a  District  Superintendent  do  to  advance  this 
campaign  ? 

First.     lie  must  lav  it  on  the  heart  and  conscieiico  of  the 

367 


368  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

preacher-in-charge  of  every  appointment  on  his  district,  espe- 
cially on  the  younger  men,  that,  ^  556  of  the  Discipline  is 
in  force:  "The  law  of  the  Church  in  regard  to  the  jiro  rata 
division  of  the  amounts  raised  for  ministerial  support  is 
binding,  and  it  is  incumbent  on  the  Pastors  and  District 
Superintendents  to  see  that  such  pro  rata  division  be  made." 

A  western  editor  in  the  first  issue  of  his  paper  had  this 
motto,  ''Vim,  vinegar  arid  victory/'  Without  vim  no  great 
achievement  can  be  accomplished.  Even  vinegar  has  its 
legitimate  function.  It  was  Josh  Billings,  that  prince  of 
all  American  humorists,  who  once  said :  ''Every  man  needs 
just  enough  vinegar  in  his  constitution  to  keep  the  flies  of." 

Second.  The  District  Superintendent  must  see  that  the  full 
amount  apportioned  to  his  district  be  reapportioned  by  the 
district  stewards  to  the  several  pastoral  charges  on  a  just 
and  equitable  basis.  As  a  preliminary  to  this  the  district 
superintendents  should  insist  that  the  Annual  Conference 
apportion  the  full  amount  required  to  pay  the  claims  at  one 
hundred  cents  on  the  dollar. 

Third.  During  the  year  he  should  keep  in  touch  with  the 
pastors  and  j)eople  and  "stir  up  their  pure  minds  hy  way  of 
remembrance"  that  the  Eetired  Preacher  must  be  fully  recog- 
nized in  the  budget  for  "Ministerial  support."  Where  the 
duplex  system  has  not  been  inaugurated,  "Old  Folks'  Day," 
or  "Veterans'  Day,"  will  furnish  a  good  opportunity  for  meet- 
ing the  apportionment. 

Fourth.  In  the  quarterly  conference  visitation  the  laity 
should  be  instructed  as  to  the  justice  of  the  Eetired  Minis- 
ters' claims,  and  the  request  should  be  openly,  frankly  and 
earnestly  made  that  this  great  cause  should  be  remembered 
in  their  wills. 

Fifth.  Proper  provisions  for  the  ministry  in  all  denomina- 
tions are  related  to  the  problem  of  Church  unity,  for  without 
such  provisions  rivalry,  spiritual  inefficiency  and  a  host  of 
good  men  living  on  beggarly  stipends,  are  the  inevitable 
results,  with  increased  demands  upon  Conference  funds. 

The  District  Superintendent  can  cooperate  in  every  move- 
ment toward  Church  comity.  Church  federation,  and  Church 
unity  in  such  a  way  as  to  set  loose  vast  amounts  of  money  for 
this  nol)le  fund  for  the  aged  veterans  of  the  cross. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  Frank  P.  Parkin. 


COOPERATION 

ANNUAL  CONFERENCE  ORGANI- 
ZATIONS   AND   THE   BOARD    OF 
CONFERENCE  CLAIMANTS 

THE  REV.  S.  A.  MORSE,  D.D. 

Secretary  of  the  Permanent  Fund,  Genesee  Conferonce 


When  a  friend  expressed  to  Lord  Karnes  his  regret  at  his 
ignorance  of  a  particular  branch  of  political  economy  and 
asked  for  advice,  his  Lordship  replied :  "Shall  I  tell  you,  my 
friend,  how  you  will  come  to  understand  it?  Go  and  write 
a  book  upon  it."  Though  this  is  not  a  book,  it  is  written  u^on 
the  principle  expressed  by  the  Scotch  judge,  for,  surely,  I 
know  little  about  the  subject.  But  who  does  know?  There 
is  no  background  of  experience,  or  even  of  observation,  for 
a  picture  of  this  sort.  Imagination  must  supply  the  perspec- 
tive. I  can  hope  only  to  make  a  few  suggestions  and  start  a 
discussion  from  which  the  writer  may  himself  receive  more 
than  his  paper  can  possibly  give. 

In  the  first  place,  let  me  emphasize  the  importance  of  co- 
operation between  the  Conference  organizations  and  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants.  To  this  end  it  is  essential  that 
there  be  a  frank  and  full  recognition  of  the  leadership  of  the 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants.  It  is  only  trite  to  say  that 
large  mass-movements  require  conspicuous  headships — head- 
ships charged  with  alrandant  power,  and  clothed  with  the 
dignity  of  vast  responsibilities.  Lacking  this,  the  masses 
fall  apart,  going  their  several  ways,  working  often  at  cross- 
purposes,  if,  indeed,  they  do  not  actually  fall  to  fighting 
each  other.  Lacking  coherence  and  coordination,  and  the 
vision  of  the  general  with  his  glass  yonder  on  the  heights, 
the  movement  is  chaotic  and  ineffective.  Instead  of  Rome, 
Greece  might  have  become  the  seat  of  an  age-long  empire 
had  she  been  willing  to  recognize  some  supreme  power  to  com- 
mand and  lead.  Even  when  a  common  peril  drove  the  tribes 
into  union,  democratic  jealousy  compelled  the  change  of 
generals  every  day,  even  in  the  face  of  the  foe.  Methodism 
is  an  outstanding  illustration  of  the  aggressive  force  inher- 

369 


370  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

ing  in  an  organization  of  military-like  compactness,  and  mov- 
ing like  an  army  under  well-nigh  individual  control  toward 
its  objective,  the  conquest  of  the  world  for  its  Lord  and 
Master,  Jesus  Christ. 

The  one  great  department  of  Methodism  that  has  suf- 
fered most  for  lack  of  coordination  and  commanding  leader- 
ship is  the  one  which  relates  to  the  support  of  the  Retired 
Ministers.  No  wonder  that  we  have  been  confused  and  be- 
lated! Treated  thus,  where  would  our  missionary  enter- 
prises be?  If  in  1819,  when  we  began  our  foreign  missionary 
work,  or  in  1864,  when  we  began  our  work  of  Church  Ex- 
tension, we  had  grappled  in  a  similar  way  and  with  like 
vigor  with  the  question  of  the  proper  care  of  our  worn-out 
preachers  and  widows,  to-day  no  member  of  a  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Conference,  who  had  served  even  a  moderate  length  of 
time,  would  be  in  danger  of  hearing  the  snarl  of  the  gaunt 
wolf  of  hunger.  The  wonderfully  successful  enterprises  al- 
luded to  above  are  well-entitled  to  the  name  of  movements. 
But  had  they  been  treated  as  the  cause  of  the  claimant  has 
been,  the  characterization  would  be  grotesquely  inaccurate. 
To  illustrate  the  point  take  a  few  statistical  facts  from  the 
annals  of  one  Conference,  representative,  perhaps,  of  the  con- 
ditions in  almost  any  Conference  of  the  Church,  which  I  have 
denominated 

Some  Significant  Conteasts 

Genesee  Conference — Full  Membership:  1852,  10,135. 
1913,  50,907.    More  than  five-fold  increase. 

Church  and  Parsonage  Property:  1859,  $381,700;  1913, 
$4,608,825.     More  than  a  twelve-fold  gain. 

Benevolent  Giving:  1850,  $6,353;  1913,  $125,293.  Multi- 
plied by  more  than  18. 

Per  Capita  Giving  for  Conference  Claimants:  1852,  16 
cents;  1913,  28f  cents.    Only  1|  times  more. 

Average  Payment  to  Worn-out  Ministers:  1852,  $190.66; 
1913,  $219.77.  Only  $29.11  more  to  each,  while  cost  of  liv- 
ing has  advanced  at  least  66  per  cent. 

Everything  has  boomed  except  the  care  of  the  preacher — 
the  man  who  made  things  go. 

Is  this  a  square  deal?    Yerily,  no. 

Look  again  at  these  figures  exponential  of  growth  in  that 


ANNUAL  CONFEEENCE  REPEESENTATR^ES  371 

Conference,  and  be  amazed.  There  are  increases  of  five-fold, 
twelve-fold,  eighteen-fold  in  certain  important  items,  and 
for  the  men  and  women  who  have  made  all  this  possible, 
when  retired  from  the  firing-line  an  increase  of  but  $29  per 
year;  and  that  in  the  face  of  an  increase  of  not  less  than 
66  per  cent  in  the  cost  of  table  necessities.  Surely,  this  is 
not  a  square  deal.  It  is  a  situation  intolerable,  especially  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  there  has  been  no  adequate  increase  in 
the  average  pastoral  support. 

A  new  era  dawns.  At  last  the  Church  is  awake.  At  last 
we  have  authorized  leadership,  and  relationships  somewhat 
articulated.  To  be  sure  we  are  as  yet  in  the  infancy  of  the 
new  movement,  and  we  are  toddling  like  babies  learning  to 
walk.  But  we  are  learning,  and  soon  we  shall  walk  and  not  be 
weary,  run  and  not  faint.  We  have  leadership  well-equipped 
and  worthy  to  be  followed.  The  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants is  wisely  planning  the  campaign,  and  is  becoming  a  sort 
of  clearing-house  of  information  and  the  source  of  light  and 
inspiration  for  the  whole  Church.  The  need  of  this  has  long 
been  felt  by  those  particularly  interested  in  endowment  work. 
Many  of  us  have  had  a  zeal  not  according  to  knowledge, 
devising  schemes  more  or  less  fantastic  and  Utopian.  That 
even  that  aggregation  of  wisdom,  the  General  Conference, 
has  sometimes  been  in  need  of  illumination  is  seen  in 
the  abortive  legislation  which  had  to  be  thrown  into  the 
junk  heap;  and  by  the  method  of  distribution  of  Book 
Concern  dividends  to  the  Annual  Conferences.  Our  "Witen- 
agemot"  imposed  upon  the  Book  Committee  the  duty  of 
dividing  these  profits  among  the  Conferences  on  the  basis  of 
Conference  membership;  a  plan  which  entirely  ignores  the 
crucial  questions  of  the  number  of  claimants,  and  their  aggre- 
gate years  of  service  and  total  annuity  claims.  The  time  of 
this  ignorance  may  have  been  winked  at,  but  now,  with 
the  light  of  experience  focalized  by  experts,  our  quadrennial 
parliament  may  well  be  commanded  to  repent.  In  such 
matters  as  these,  Conference  organizations  should  he  ready  to 
hold  up  the  hands  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  and 
seek  to  make  that  body  most  efficient  in  its  work  for  the  worn- 
out  men  and  women  of  the  itinerancy.  Not  that  individual 
judgment  be  suspended,  or  reason  abdicate  her  throne !  But, 
ifiaving  counseled,  let  us  all  strike  together  for  remedying 


372  THE  JJETIEED  MIXISTER 

evils  which  we  see.     The  rules  of  the  game  of  ^'Follow-my- 
leader"  may  be  applied  to  the  serious  affairs  of  life. 

There  should  be  cooperation  between  the  two  parties  con- 
sidered herein  in  a  matter  in  which  the  Conference  organiza- 
tions must  be  the  chief  gainers.  I  refer  to  the  creation  and 
distribution  of  an  endowment  literature.  Neal  Dow  declared 
that,  preceding  the  adoption  of  the  constitutional  prohibitory 
amendment  in  ]\Iaine^  he  "sowed  the  State  knee-deep  with 
literature"  on  the  sul)ject  of  intemperance.  This  great  work 
of  ours  cannot  be  accomplished  without  liberal  use  of  printers' 
ink.  That  is  seed  from  which  great  harvests  often  grow. 
Young  Erasmus  in  Paris  wrote :  "As  soon  as  I  get  any  money 
I  shall  buy  Greek  books;  then  I  shall  buy  some  clothes." 
Like  the  great  scholar  of  the  Eenaissance  we  must  put  im- 
mense emphasis  upon  books,  or,  at  least,  upon  leaflets,  tracts, 
hot  shots,  printed  tastefully  and  fired  frequently.  It  is  the 
age  of  the  printer.  We  can  do  nothing  without  him.  "Write 
a  book,"  advised  a  great  orator,  "a  book  is  the  only  immor- 
tality." The  printed  page  is  to  be  a  chief  portion  of  our 
campaign  ammunition.  I  am  glad  that  Martin  Luther  flung 
an  ink  bottle  and  not  a  boot- jack  at  the  devil.  Devils  of 
opposition  born  of  ignorance  and  prejudice  and  selfishness 
may  be  defeated  by  pen  and  ink  attacks  as  by  no  other  kind. 
Now,  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  and  the  local  organ- 
izations may  do  most  valuable  cooperative  work  by  uniting 
in  the  production  of  educative  and  campaign  literature.  The 
Board,  for  example,  issues  some  most  excellent  pamphlets  and 
leaflets  which  could  be  used  with  good  advantage  in  Confer- 
ence campaigns.  Among  these  issues  are  'The  Banker's 
Investment/'  a  leaflet  on  the  life  annuity  plan;  Marvin 
Campbell's  able  address  at  the  Indianapolis  Convention  of 
Methodist  Men;  and  latest  perhaps,  by  Dr.  Oldham,  ''We'll 
Do  It."  Judge  Horton  on  "Wills"  is  also  valuable.  These 
all  bear  the  imprint  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants, 
but  can  be  printed  with  the  imprint  of  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence and  in  such  large  quantities  as  to  reduce  to  a  minimum 
the  cost  of  production  for  Conference  organizations.  I  now 
have  in  my  possession  the  very  low  figures  quoted  for  the 
purchase  of  a  tract  by  Marion  Harland  on  Should  Protestant 
Ministers  Marry?  circulated  in  large  numbers  by  the  Presby- 
terian Board.     The  last  page  is  blank.     It  is  my  thought  to 


COOrET^ATTOX— COXFEEEXCES  AXD  ROAUD  3T3 

accept  the  generous  offer  of  that  hoard,  and  use  the  hist  page 
to  localize  and  make  applicahle  to  our  own  situation  the  text 
of  the  tract.  This  can  be  done  at  much  less  cost  than  we 
could  possibly  produce  the  pamphlet.  Our  Board  can  do 
something  of  this  sort  for  the  local  organizations.  Besides 
reducing  the  printing  bill  of  the  local  organizations  this  plan 
would  tend  to  supply  the  Conferences  oftentimes  with  better 
"stuff''  than  would  otherwise  be  circulated;  and  would  tend 
to  ally  the  general  and  the  local  forces  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  the  impression  of  strength,  allaying  possible  jealousies 
that  might  arise  from  the  seeming  conflict  of  the  local  forces 
with  the  general  board.  It  is  just  possible,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  the  Conference  organizations  may  sometimes  print  pro- 
ductions wdiich  the  Board  would  be  wise  to  use  and  to  give  a 
wider  distribution  through  its  great  circulatory  system. 

These  principles  apply  to  that  excellent  quarterly,  The 
Veteran  Preacher.  My  own  belief  is  that  we  cannot  any- 
where conduct  a  campaign  with  the  greatest  success  without 
the  aid  of  a  periodical  issued  monthly,  or  at  least  quarterly. 
We  must  get  into  contact  regularly  and  frequently  with  our 
constituencies  if  we  are  to  gain  final  victory  and  reach  it  soon. 
It  ought  to  be  possible  to  publish  monthly  The  Veteran 
Preacher  having,  say,  half  of  the  contents  of  a  character 
applicable  to  the  situation  as  a  whole  and  the  other  half  made 
up  of  matter  particularly  interesting  to  the  people  of  the 
Conferences  using  the  plan.  Of  course,  this  would  be  upon 
an  equitable  basis  as  to  cost.  With  cheap  freight  rates  and 
parcel  post  charges,  this  scheme  must  be  practicable.  Is  it 
too  much  to  hope  that  some  practicable  plan  may  be  set  afoot 
soon  looking  to  the  covering  of  our  whole  territory  by  an 
educational  and  campaign  periodical  such  as  I  have  spoken  of  ? 

There  is  another  feature  of  possible  cooperation  which, 
on  the  surface,  looks  very  feasible.  I  refer  to  the  organiza- 
tion, through  the  careful  consultation  of  the  board  with  local 
organizations,  of  a  lecture  bureau,  a  corps  of  men  who  through 
practice  and  native  ability  have  become  experts  in  our  propa- 
ganda, and  who  could  be  called  upon  at  almost  any  time  for 
aid  in  Conference  campaigns.  This  suppositive  flying 
squadron  might  be  chiefly  limited  to  the  several  episcopal 
areas  in  the  interest  of  economy.  Of  course,  there  is  already 
some  interchange  in  the  services  of  such  men,  but  it  is  upon 


374  THE  I^ETIEED  MTXTSTEPt 

no  organized  basis  such  as  would  make  it  most  efficient.  Such 
a  list  of  available  men  might  be  on  file  in  Dr.  Ilingeley's 
office,  and  their  names  published  in  The  Veteran  Preacher. 
Of  course,  no  man  would  make  money  out  of  the  plan,  but 
be  content  with  his  expenses.  We  can  never  repay  the  men 
who  went  before  us,  building  a  highway  for  us  to  travel  on, 
and  who  made  the  franchise  of  Conference  membership  of 
almost  inestimable  value  to  us.  We  are  their  debtors  as 
those  who  come  after  us  will  be  indebted  to  us.  Glorious 
debt!  I  would  like  to  make  it  measurelessly  large.  These 
are  but  hints,  and  experience  will  be  required  to  demonstrate 
their  value  or  otherwise. 

If  in  this  paper  I  have  seemed  to  emphasize  the  ways  in 
which  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  may  operate  to 
help  the  local  organizations,  it  is  perhaps  because  this  lay  in 
the  nature  of  the  case.  I  can  at  least  here  record  my  own 
grateful  appreciation  of  the  work  of  Dr.  Hingeley,  who  is 
sparing  neither  time  nor  effort  to  serve  the  cause  in  and 
through  the  various  Conference  organizations.  Our  presence 
here  is  but  one  of  the  many  proofs  of  this.  We  are  glad  to 
learn  that  Conferences  are  seconding  his  motion  in  respect  of 
the  full  apportionment  for  Conference  Claimants.  He  has 
had  to  do  much  preaching  to  bring  about  this  result.  It  is 
well  that  he  is  persistent.  Through  this  one  move  alone  our 
claimants  throughout  many  sections  of  the  Church  will  share 
more  abundantly  than  ever  before  in  the  benefits  resulting 
from  an  aroused  conscience  on  the  subject  of  what  is  due  our 
pastors  emeritus,  our  corps  of  honor.  This  is  taking  a  long 
stride  toward  the  happy  time  when  the  great  majority  of  our 
retired  men  and  women  will  be  on  the  annuity  list  only,  and 
all  relief  cases  will  be  amply  cared  for  by  distribution  from 
the  general  office  in  Chicago. 

S.  A.  Morse. 

27  Minnesota  Ave.,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


i% 


CAMPAIGN  LEADER 
SHIP:  CONFERENCE 
REPRESENTATIVES 

THE  REV.  W.  D.  SLEASE,  D.D. 

Secretary  Permanent  Fund,  Pittsburgh  Conference 


Every  enterprise  is  dependent  upon  its  leadership.  If  the 
enterprise  is  hiudable  and  the  leadership  competent  success 
is  almost  certain ;  but  however  laudable  the  enterprise,  if  the 
leadership  be  weak,  failure  will  be  the  result.  The  greatest 
enterprises  are  the  salvation  of  humanity,  the  lessening  of 
human  ills,  and  the  elevation  of  the  moral  life.  Such  leader- 
ship was  committed  to  the  apostles  and  their  successors,  the 
ministers  of  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  are  the 
accepted  coworkers  with  God  in  saving  the  world  and  build- 
ing the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Since  the  Church  is  the  great- 
est institution,  "an  everlasting  kingdom,''  its  establishment 
and  enlargement  is  the  greatest  work  committed  to  men. 
The  greatness  of  this  world  enterprise  demands  that  its  build- 
ers be  of  the  highest  type,  the  best  trained  workmen  that 
nature,  culture  and  grace  can  produce.  The  Church  says  to 
its  young  men  who  are  called  to  become  its  spokesmen,  "Give 
me  all  your  strength,  all  your  talent,  all  your  culture,  all 
your  heart,  all  of  yourself,  and  I  will  give  you  a  comfortable 
support  throughout  your  life."  There  are  certain  demands  in 
ordinary  life,  and  certain  limitations  to  human  ability,  for 
which  God  has  provided.  But  He  demands  that  His  chief 
builders  shall  not  be  handicapped  in  their  great  work  by  being 
compelled  to  go  into  the  business  marts  to  compete  for  the 
necessary  things  of  ordinary  life  because  He  needs  all  their 
talent,  time  and  effort  for  the  work  of  His  Church.  This 
underlying  principle  of  the  divine  economy  is  manifested  in 
both  the  old  and  new  covenant  systems  of  building  up  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

In  the  old  theocratic  economy  God  made  magnificent  pro- 
vision for  the  temporal  support  of  his  priests  and  L(!vites  as 
is  shown  by  the  ordinances  promulgated  by  Moses.    The  same 

375 


376  THE  IJETllJED  MINISTER 

economic  principle  is  shadowed  in  the  long  neglected  cove- 
nant of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Cliurch  which  })romises  its 
ministers  "a  comfortahle  support."  After  a  century  of 
neglect  the  sense  of  responsibility  to  God  and  of  obligation 
to  its  Veteran  Ministers  has  been  revived  and  Methodism  is 
launching  a  church-wide  campaign  to  enable  it  to  meet  its 
obligation,  having  for  its  slogan,  ^^Five  million  dollars  for 
perpetual  investment  in  behalf  of  the  Retired  Ministers, 
widows  and  orphans."  The  enterprise  is  cooperative  and 
intensive  and  extensive,  and  will  surely  succeed  if  its  leader- 
ship is  equal  to  the  task.  The  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants originated  the  movement,  and  must  continue  in  its  lead- 
ership. For  this  is  a  world-wide  movement  of  the  whole 
Church  and  by  the  whole  Church,  and  for  the  whole  Church, 
though  the  work  will  be  largely  done  in  and  by  Conferences. 
The  Church  has  its  untiring  and  indefatigable  leader  in  the 
person  of  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Con- 
ference Claimants,  the  Rev.  Joseph  B.  Hingeley,  D.J).  Most 
Annual  Conferences  have  agents  in  the  field,  and  all  must 
have.  Upon  these,  to  a  large  extent,  will  depend  the  success 
of  the  movement.  If  these  agents  are  competent,  intensive 
and  industrious,  then  the  movement  will  be  widely  effective, 
and  the  century-old  pledge  of  the  Church  for  a  comfortable 
support,  so  long  unredeemed  through  lack  of  sufficient  assets, 
will  become  effective  in  both  spirit  and  letter. 

To  be  practical  rather  than  theoretical  I  would  say  that 
these  Annual  Conference  agents  should  be  men  with  large 
visions  of  Christ  and  the  Church,  with  a  profound  sense  of 
their  responsibility^  to  God,  and  their  duty  to  their  retired 
brethren.  They  must  be  men  w^ho  not  only  see  visions,  but 
who  dream  dreams  and  make  their  dreams  come  true;  men 
who  keep  step  with  the  advanced  public  sentiment  as  to  the 
reasonableness  of  all  old  age  pensions,  especially  to  those 
which  are  inherent  in  the  gospel  ministry.  Tliey  must  be 
men  of  faith,  and  loyal-hearted,  and  experienced  with  faith 
in  God,  faith  in  the  Church  and  its  loyalty  to  its  aged  min- 
isters, faith  in  the  importance  of  the  movement;  men  ca- 
pable of  inspiring  like  faith  in  others  and  of  persuading  them 
to  capitalize  their  faith  in  permanent  investments  in  behalf 
of  the  Veteran  Ministers,  and  the  widows  and  orphans  of 
deceased  ministers.     They  must  be  optimists  who  see  that 


ANNUAL  CONFERENCE  REPRESENTATIVES  377 

the  times  are  ripe  for  a  great  church-wide  movement;  men 
who  believe  there  never  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the 
world  when  God  had  so  strong  a  grip  pn  the  Church  and  the 
Church  had  so  strong  a  grip  on  God  as  now;  men  who  see 
that  thoughtful  Christian  men  were  never  so  ready  to  throw 
their  gold  and  silver  into  God's  treasury  for  strengthening  and 
extending  his  kingdom  and  dealing  fairly  and  squarely  with 
God's  workmen.  They  must  be  men  who  believe  that  the  gold 
and  silver  and  "the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills"  belong  to 
God,  and  that  they  are  not  too  great  a  price  to  pay  for  build- 
ing the  kingdom  or  keeping  the  kingdom's  pledge  to  its  build- 
ers. They  must  know  men,  and  be  able  to  show  them  '^'Whose 
they  are  and  Whom  they  serve,"  and  that  God  expects  them 
to  use  their  resources  for  the  proper  comfortable  support  of 
those  who  in  their  strength  went  forth  amid  tears  and  sacri- 
fices sowing  the  seeds  of  righteousness  and  laying  the  founda- 
tions, upon  wdiich  they  have  builded.  They  should  be  men 
of  such  large  personality  as  to  be  able  to  stand  before 
any  organization,  or  in  any  presence  as  the  representatives 
of  God  and  the  Church,  and  without  apology  or  pitiful  pleas 
of  poverty  show  that  these  sacred  claims  are  based  on  scrip- 
tural authority  as  well  as  upon  the  most  practical  principles 
of  church  economy.  These  leaders  must  be  men  of  persistent, 
untiring  effort,  ready  to  go  anywhere  or  to  make  any  sacrifice 
for  the  glory  of  the  Church  or  the  comfort  of  its  Veteran 
Ministers,  always  ready  to  preach  the  blessedness  of  giving, 
to  advise  as  to  Wills  and  to  write  bequests  and  to  solicit  con- 
tributions from  the  people..  By  methods  like  these  and  a 
hearty  cooperation  of  the  ministers,  the  Pittsburgh  Confer- 
ence has  secured  during  the  last  two  quadrenniums  nearly 
$200,000  of  productive  investments;  besides  thousands  of 
dollars  of  subscriptions  not  yet  due,  and  many  thousands  in 
bequests  not  yet  in  force. 

To  God  be  the  praise  and  glory  for  the  awakened  interest 
in  the  Conference  Claimants  of  Methodism ! 

W.  D.  Slease. 

3119  Kelvin  St.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


378  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

THE  MAN  WITHOUT  A  FUTURE 

Some  one  has  said  that  "holding  doggedly  to  what  one 
believes  'to  be  strictly  conscientious  is  acting  out  a  farcical 
piece  of  unreasonable  stubbornness." 

The  minister  is  a  man  who  entertains  a  call  he  deems 
divine.  He  felt  the  call  in  his  own  heart.  He  heard  it  as 
.did  Aaron,  coming  from  the  lips  of  the  Church.  He  saw  it 
when,  after  years  of  his  best  endeavor,  he  saw  the  fruits 
of  his  labor.     He  conscientiously  proved  it  in  many  ways. 

He  knew  that  the  remuneration  would  be  small.  He  was 
not  looking  for  anything  more  than  enough  to  cement  body 
and  soul.  He  knew  the  inevitable  end,  when  he  would  be 
obliged  to  quit,  and  be  set  aside  with  no  regular  income,  and 
that  this  would  occur  after  he  was  no  longer  able  to  perform 
manual  or  brain  work.  He  intended  to  spend  and  l)e  spent 
in  the  labor  of  love.  He  knew  he  would  not  be  permitted 
to  take  any  time  or  energy  from  the  charge  he  served  and 
speculate  as  every  other  man  can  do.  He  gave  all  he  had  to 
assist  some  one  else. 

He  gave  his  life  wholly  to  the  Church,  and  must  work  as 
long  as  life  should  endure.  He  might  have  stopped  after  he 
had  slaved  twenty  years  or  so,  before  the  grasshopper  had 
become  a  burden,  and  his  natural  forces  had  abated,  and  have 
worked  a  few  years  for  himself  and  family,  but  to  him  this 
would  have  been  downright  dishonesty.  Had  he  not  promised 
the  Lord  to  work  for  Him  all  his  days? 

So  this  stubbornly  conscientious  man  labors  on,  and  on, 
and  on,  till  the  wheel  breaks  at  the  cistern.  He  has  never 
had  any  home  but  a  parsonage.  He  has  no  furniture  except 
his  scanty  bric-a-brac,  the  gifts  of  friends  through  the  weary 
years.  He  has  no  property  but  his  dwindling  library.  He 
is  retired.  The  Conference  session  ends.  He  has  preached 
forty-one  years  and  as  a  "necessitous  case"  receives  $78  for 
the  years  facing  him.  He  staggers  out.  He  has  no  home, 
no  future — but  Heaven.    He  is  a  martyr,  a  saint,  a  hero ! 

Thank  God!  that  this  is  a  wrong  that  is  being  righted. 
In  1913  there  were  two  dollars  for  him,  as  against  one  dollar 
five  years  ago,  and  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  means  that  there 
shall  be  three  dollars  instead  of  one — $231  instead  of  $78. 


THE  1915  CAMPAIGN 

THE  PROGRAM 

THE  REV.  J.  B.  HINGELEY,  D.D. 

Corresponding  Secretary    Board  of  Conference  Claimants 


Many  things  have  been  said  about  the  General  Conference 
Board  and  Annual  Conference  organizations.  We  are  begin- 
ning a  common  campaign  which  the  Board  is  seeking  to  for- 
ward in  every  practicable  way.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Ohio  Con- 
ference commission,  after  I  had  presented  an  analysis  of  the 
situation,  a  bright  Christian  woman,  member  of  two  Gen- 
eral Conferences,  said  that  she  thanked  God  for  "the  modern 
baptism  of  accuracy,^'  which  made  it  possible  for  the  Church 
to  measure  its  liabilities  and  resources.  One  reason  why  we 
can  come  together  in  such  a  united  spirit  is  that  we  have  been 
reading  the  same  facts,  and  studying  the  situation  in  our 
several  Conferences,  and  are  therefore  able  to  project  the  1915 
CAMPAIGN  on  the  lines  of  the  most  intense  cooperation.  In 
the  Buffalo  Area  there  is  an  Area  organization  representing 
the  six  Conferences,  which  have  formed  an  alliance  for  mutual 
help,  and  to  see  each  Conference  through  its  task.  The  sug- 
gestion came  from  Dr.  F.  T.  Keeney,  and  was  adopted  imme- 
diately by  Bishop  Burt.  In  1908  the  Board  was  up  against 
a  wall  of  indifference  or  opposition,  but  I  do  not  know  of  a 
Conference  which  is  not  to-day  helpfully  related  to  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants  and  solicitous  for  its  leadership. 

Literature 

The  question  of  literature  is  a  live  question.  Our  em- 
barrassment grows  out  of  the  fact  that  we  have  not  money 
with  which  to  do  the  necessary  business.  The  little  we  had 
hoarded  in  the  General  Fund  is  exhausted.  We  cannot  take  a 
dollar  from  the  Permanent  Fund,  or  from  percentages.  But 
we  have  the  work  to  do,  and  I  am  sufficient  of  an  optimist  to 
believe  that  as  in  the  childhood  of  the  Board,  so  now  in  its 
manhood  the  friends  of  the  Veterans  will  provide  funds  for 

379 


380  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

the  1915  CAMPAIGN".  We  cannot  wage  successful  battle 
along  the  great  lines  laid  out  by  this  Convention  unless  the 
ammunition  wagon  is  filled  for  use.  The  Board  must  have 
the  money.  The  literature  for  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  must 
be  prepared  and  printed,  and  adapted  for  use  in  any  Con- 
ference. The  Veteran  Preaclier  must  be  enlarged  and  issued 
every  month,  with  pages  devoted  to  the  Annual  Conference 
Campaigns,  with  special  editions  for  the  several  Conferences. 
We  are  ready  to  do  this,  and  have  the  plans,  program  and 
arrangements  with  the  printer.  We  wait  only  the  arrival  of 
the  "Ammunition  Wagon.^^ 

We  have  a  great  intensive,  extensive,  cooperative  campaign ; 
and  on  our  mailing  list  in  Chicago  must  have  the  name  of 
every  possible  contributor  in  every  pastoral  charge  in  Meth- 
odism. Inspirational  literature,  the  Veteran  Preacher,  and 
special  literature  must  be  prepared  and  sent  to  them.  Pastors 
must  be  given  inspiration  and  information  so  as  to  present 
the  cause  to  the  people.  Every  district  in  Methodism  must 
be  organized  for  work,  and  skilled  workers  discovered  and 
trained. 

Climax   of   Conference   Campaign 

The  climax  of  a  Campaign  might  be  handled  as  follows: 
Take  a  charge  which  has  sent  in  one  hundred  names  of  pos- 
sible contributors  who  have  received  literature  from  the  Board 
and  have  been  informed  as  to  the  needs.  The  pastor  has  pre- 
sented the  cause  in  the  pulpit;  five  canvassers,  laymen  or 
pastors,  set  aside  for  that  purpose,  go  to  that  community 
trained  to  do  a  certain  task.  Each  man  is  to  see  ten  persons 
in  the  morning  and  ten  in  the  afternoon,  and  urge  them  to 
make  contributions  or  pledges  to  the  fund.  Each  of  these 
Preachers  will  be  met  and  introduced  by  a  layman.  By  night 
every  one  of  those  one  hundred  possible  contributors  will  have 
been  personally  solicited  and  the  entire  work  of  solicitation 
for  that  charge  completed  in  one  day.  If  there  are  thirty 
solicitors,  then  six  other  charges  can  be  canvassed  in  one  day, 
and  six  hundred  possible  contributors  interviewed;  and  in 
ten  days  six  thousand  friends  of  the  Veterans  can  be  seen. 

The  work  done  will  be  reported  to  headquarters  each  night ; 
an  account  of  what  has  been  done  put  into  type  and  sent  out 
the  next  morning  to  each  possible  contributor  so  that  all  may 


MERGING  THE  WORK  381 

know  just  what  has  been  accomplished.  This  will  be  done 
daily,  until  the  canvass  has  been  completed.  Several  Con- 
ferences are  organizing  along  these  lines.  I  am  sure  that 
such  an  intensive  "lightning  campaign/^  following  thorough 
preparation,  would  place  any  Conference  on  the  hundred  per 
cent  list  during  this  quadrennium. 

CONNECTIONAL   WoRK   MeRGED 

For  the  sake  of  greater  efficiency  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  has  submerged  its  individual  interests  in  the  larger 
program  of  the  intensive,  cooperative  Campaign.  Ten  million 
dollars  will  make  all  the  Conferences  solvent,  and  when  that 
is  accomplished,  and  while  it  is  being  accomplished,  there 
is  no  doubt  as  to  the  response  of  the  Church  to  the  special 
and  particular  needs  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants. 
God  is  already  sending  to  us  messages  laden  with  money. 
The  other  day  one  aeroplaned  almost  2,000  miles  and  landed 
on  my  desk.  We  did  not  go  after  it,  and  never  met  the  giver. 
But  the  Spirit  of  God  and  of  Christian  liberality  had  visited 
him,  and  he  "was  not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision."  A 
few  weeks  ago  an  old  soldier  wrote,  "I  am  an  old  man  and 
have  five  thousand  dollars  in  the  bank,  and  haven't  an  heir 
this  side  of  Scotland.  I  want  my  money  to  go  to  the  old 
Preachers;  will  you  take  the  money  for  them,  and  pay  me 
interest  on  it  until  I  die?"  It  cost  us  two  postage  stamps 
to  secure  that  gift.  Nobody  knew  he  had  a  penny,  but  he 
had  five  thousand  dollars,  and  love  for  the  old  Preachers. 

Publicity 

One  result  of  this  campaign  will  be  the  opening  of  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  We  need  only  open  their  eyes  and 
ears,  God  will  open  their  hearts.  They  will  be  glad  to  get 
the  suggestion  of  helping  the  old  Preachers,  but  they  will 
never  get  it  if  we  remain  silent.  A  clipping  from  the  North- 
western Christian  Advocate  opened  the  way  for  us  to  receive 
$11,000  from  an  aged  Christian  woman.  If  we  will  only 
give  the  publicity  God  will  wing  our  words  with  His  love. 

The  Campaign  is  cooperative,  intensive  and  general.  It 
is  ordered  by  the  General  Conference,  has  the  leadership  of 
the  Bishops  and  District  Superintendents,  is  intended  to 
meet  the  full  claims  in  every  Annual  Conference  throughout 


382  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

the  entire  Church,  and  is  aided,  ahetted,  pushed  and  led  by 
the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  to  whom  the  Church 
has  committed  the  duty  not  only  of  "uniting  the  stronger 
and  weaker  Conferences  in  one  general  plan  to  secure  a  more 
equitable  and  general  support  for  the  Retired  Preachers, 
especially  in  the  more  needy  Conferences,^'  and  of  "building 
up  and  administering  a  Permanent  Connectional  Fund"; 
but  also  that  of  "increasing  the  revenues  for  the  benefit  of 
Co7iference  Claimants,"  however  distributed. 

This  provision  to  "increase  revenues  for  Conference  Claim- 
ants" has  no  limitations  placed  upon  it.  Wherever  there  is 
a  Retired  Preacher  or  the  widow  or  dependent  orphan  of  a 
deceased  preacher  there  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  to  go  and,  so  far  as  may  be  in  its 
power,  to  see  that  a  sufficient  support  is  provided. 

The  Permanent  Fund  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants helps  "necessitous  cases"  in  all  Conferences;  and  the 
funds  in  the  hands  of  Annual  Conference  Trustees, 
Preachers'  Aid  Societies,  etc.,  are  distributed  generally  as 
annuities  or  pensions  based  on  service.  The  more  invest- 
ments Annual  Conferences  have,  the  more  fully  can  they  meet 
their  obligations  to  their  Conference  Claimants,  and  the 
less  claim  they  will  have  on  the  Connectional  Fund.  On 
the  other  hand  the  more  money  that  is  invested  by  the 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  the  more  money  it  will  have 
to  assist  the  Annual  Conferences  in  relieving  the  needs  of 
^^necessitous  cases." 

The  1915  CAMPAIGN,  to  quote  the  language  of  the  General 
Conference,  is  for  "The  Jubilee  Gift  of  Five  Million  Dollars, 
comprised  of  all  gifts  to  the  funds  of  the  several  Annual  Con- 
ferences and  also  to  the  Permanent  Fund  of  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants." 

By  the  time  of  the  session  of  the  next  General  Confer- 
ence there  must  he  no  Conference  in  Methodism  in  wliich  the 
Retired  Preacher  does  not  receive  in  full  tlie  amount  promised 
to  him  hy  the  Discipline. 

There  are  many  great  organizations  in  Methodism,  and 
our  Bishops  and  coimectional  officers  and  ministers  are 
greatly  interested  in  them  all,  but  are  determined  to  see  the 
fulfillment  of  the  General  Conference  program  for  Con- 
ference Claimants. 


THE  1915  CAMPAIGN 

COOPERATIVE,  INTENSIVE, 
EXTENSIVE 

REV.  E.  C.  E.  DORION,  D.D. 

Associate  Editor  Zion's  Herald 
Member  Board  of  Conference  Claimants 


The  year  1915  will  mark  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Amer- 
ican Methodism.  One  need  not  be  prophetic  in  vision  in 
order  to  know  that  this  will  be  so,  for  one  branch  of  that 
family  is  awakening  to  the  responsibility  it  owes  its  ministry. 
Such  an  awakening  means  a  new  day,  the  dawn  of  a  new  era 
for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  I  speak  in  no  uncer- 
tain terms.  By  the  token  of  our  advance  legislation,  by  the 
awakened  consciousness  in  the  industrial  world,  by  this 
gathering  I  see  the  triumph  of  the  idea  for  which  we  stand. 
There  is  the  scent  of  victory  in  the  air. 

We  are  engaged  in  big  business  to-day.  We  are  talking 
in  dollars,  but  that  is  merely  for  the  convenience  of  expres- 
sion. Back  of  all  is  a  great  overmastering  idea — the  recogni- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Church  of  its  responsibility  to  the  min- 
istry. Even  as  a  new  attitude  in  the  business  world  toward 
the  worker  has  resulted  in  more  equitable  laws,  and  a  change 
of  industrial  conditions,  so  the  new  attitude  of  the  Church 
toward  its  ministry  will  bring  about  new  conditions  that  will 
affect  the  preacher  throughout  his  entire  career. 

Fulfilling  a  CoMrACT 

We  are  not  inaugurating  a  campaign  this  day  for  a  com- 
pany of  paupers;  our  task  has  not  for  a  main  purpose  the 
relief  of  suffering.  It  is  true  that  this  fund  will  make  it 
possible  for  us  in  an  adequate  way  to  take  care  of  those  in 
need,  and  that  there  will  come  relief  from  hardship  and  suf- 
fering for  men  who  have  given  themselves  to  a  life  of  holy 
service.  But  back  of  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  there  is  some- 
thing more  important  even  than  that,  because  it  includes  this 
and  much  more.     It  will  bring  about  a  new  attitude  on  the 

383 


384  THE  RETIRED  MlxVlSTEH 

part  of  the  Church  toward  the  men  whom  it  has  ordained. 
We  would  have  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  live  up  to 
the  obligation  it  took  on  itself  when  it  accepted  the  young 
minister  as  he  stood  at  the  bar  of  the  Conference  and  said  to 
him :  "Give  us  your  life ;  go  and  preach ;  devote  all  your  time 
and  service  to  the  ministry  and  we  will  take  care  of  you/' 
Let  Methodism  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  significance  of  this 
compact,  and  who  need  fear  for  the  success  of  the  campaign  ? 
We  may  talk  in  dollars  and  cents,  but  this  idea  is  back  of  it 
all — the  obligation  of  the  Church  to  its  ministry.  And  this  is 
why  the  year  1915  will  mark  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Amer- 
ican Methodism.  It  will  result  in  a  complete  transformation 
of  the  entire  ministerial  question.  It  will  affect  the  ministry 
at  its  source,  and  will  cause  to  swell  that  stream  of  youths 
who  will  dedicate  themselves  in  answer  to  God's  call  to  them. 
It  will  affect  the  man  who  is  in  the  strength  of  his  power,  and 
will  inspire  him  to  better  work  as  he  realizes  that  a  loyal 
Church  is  back  of  him.  It  will  affect  the  Veteran  as  he  drops 
out  of  the  firing  line,  knowing  that  a  grateful  Church  holds 
him  in  affectionate  and  tangible  remembrance.  It  will  trans- 
form the  entire  ministry,  and  by  the  same  token  transform 
the  Church  itself.  Of  a  truth  we  are  erecting  milestones 
along  the  way  of  American  Methodism. 

A  Campaign 

"The  1915  CAMPAIGN."  Why  a  campaign?  Not  for 
the  sake  of  having  great  gatherings  or  great  speeches,  inter- 
esting as  this  might  be.  Not  that  we  may  discourse  on  the 
unfortunate  condition  of  the  old  preachers.  That  may  come 
out  of  it,  but  only  in  an  incidental  way.  I  shall  never  forget 
when  the  condition  of  some  of  these  old  preachers  first  dawned 
on  me.  The  son  of  a  Methodist  preacher — the  third  genera- 
tion, in  fact,  in  the  ministry — I  was  ignorant  of  the  unfor- 
tunate conditions  under  which  some  superannuates  lived. 
I  learned  one  day  that  during  the  week  an  enfeebled  old 
preacher  cobbled  shoes  to  support  himself  and  his  aged  wife; 
and  there  came  to  me  a  sense  of  burning  shame  that  my 
Church  should  thus  ignore  its  old  preachers  in  the  day  when 
they  had  ceased  from  active  service.  The  condition  of  tlie  old 
preacher  will  come  into  the  discussion,  and  we  will  help  to 


THE  CAMPAIGN  COOPERATIVE  385 

arouse  the  Clmrcli;  but  that  which  will  most  impress  the 
Church  will  be  its  responsibility  to  the  entire  ministry. 

It  is  time  we  did  this.  The  ministry  as  a  cause  has  long 
enough  l)een  ignored.  The  minister  gives  himself,  body, 
mind  and  soul,  to  every  good  cause.  This  has  been  the  history 
and  the  glory  of  our  Church.  But  his  own  cause?  Over  and 
over  again  it  has  been  set  aside  for  '^a  more  convenient  time." 
That  time  has  notv  come.  Loyal  to  the  very  end  to  every 
cause,  let  the  Church  now  be  loyal  to  him.  This  will  affect 
the  whole  ministerial  situation.  We  often  think  that  we  have 
a  sure  ministerial  sup])ly  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  that  it  will  never  exhaust  itself.  That  is  true  only  up 
to  a  certain  point.  If  this  is  true  in  the  general  run  of 
appointments,  how  about  our  weaker  work?  And  how  about 
our  larger  work?  Every  District  Superintendent  knows  how 
difficult  it  is  to  secure  men  for  the  small,  out-of-the  way 
appointments — the  hard  places.  If  we  are  to  have  the  men 
who  are  needed  to  care  for  all  our  work,  then  there  is  need 
of  a  new  attitude  toward  the  ministry  on  the  part  of  the  laity. 
I  know  a  man  who,  in  an  hour  of  excitement,  spoke  of  the 
minister  as  the  "hired  man'^  of  the  church.  Brutal  this  may 
have  been,  but  I  fear  that  all  too  often  that  for  which  this 
expression  frankly  stands  is  back  in  the  consciousness  of  some 
of  our  laity.  No,  not  "hired  men"  are  these  who  stand  at 
the  sacred  desk,  but  prophets  of  the  Most  High,  touched  by 
the  power  of  Almighty  God;  men  who  have  given  their  lives 
to  the  Church,  and  to  whom  the  Church  in  loyalty  must  give 
its  support  throughout  all  their  years. 

A  Cooperative  Campaign 

In  order  to  bring  about  this  new  attitude,  the  campaign 
must  tirst  of  all  be  cooperative — that  is  to  say,  we  must  have 
the  cooperation  of  all  church  agencies.  Each  department  of 
Methodism  has  its  own  work  and  each  must  be  honored  in 
prosecuting  it.  But  there  comes  a  time  when,  for  one  reason 
or  another,  the  right  of  way  must  be  given  to  some  particular 
agency  for  a  special  campaign.  Then  the  sense  of  brotherly 
consideration  and  cooperation  must  come  into  play.  Such 
it  is  with  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  at  this  time. 
The  General  Conference  called  upon  this  Board  to  raise,  at 
some  time  during  tliis  quadrennium,  the  magnificent  sum  of 


386  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

five  million  dollars  for  the  Retired  Preachers.  All  through 
this  period  one  cause  or  another  has  been  given  the  right  of 
way.  Now,  we  are  saying  that  the  year  1915  belongs  to  the 
old  preacher.  This  is  the  great  emergency  cause  for  that 
year.    Nothing  must  be  allowed  to  take  its  place. 

Then  again,  this  cooperation  must  be  between  the  various 
agencies  to  which  this  cause  has  been  committed — the  General 
Conference  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  and  Annual  Con- 
ference organizations.  Some  thought  these  agencies  of  neces- 
sity overlapped;  but  nothing  of  the  kind  exists  and  must 
not  appear  to.  Cooperation  between  the  General  Conference 
Board  and  the  coordinating  agencies  is  the  word,  and  all 
friends  of  the  Veterans  must  strike  hands  together  through- 
out Methodism.  We  are  told  of  the  battle-line  in  Europe 
that  stretches  over  four  hundred  miles  and  more.  The  vari- 
ous detachments  are  unable  to  keep  in  touch  one  with  an- 
other; yet  there  is  no  isolation,  for  back  of  the  battle-line  are 
the  master  minds  and  back  still  further  the  master  mind;  so 
that  the  skirmish  here,  and  the  artillery  duel  yonder,  and  the 
infantry  charge  become  parts  of  one  great  general  plan. 
There  must  be  a  like  coordination  of  the  forces  of  every  Con- 
ference in  Methodism,  from  Maine  to  California,  all  cooper- 
ating with  the  Board  in  carrying  out  the  one  program. 

Intensive  Campaign 

It  is  to  be  an  intensive  campaign — that  is,  intensive  in  the 
several  Conferences.  We  may  till  the  field  at  large,  but  in 
order  to  do  so  successfully  we  must  first  of  all  till  in  particu- 
lar. Every  furrow  must  be  turned  and  every  acre  cultivated. 
We  must  work  well  each  individual  Conference.  In  order  to 
do  that,  there  must  be  the  organizing  of  our  local  forces. 
Now  and  then  we  are  led  to  think  we  have  too  much  organ- 
ization. That  is  true  if  the  organization  be  useless,  but  it 
is  not  so  if  the  organization  has  a  purpose.  In  organizing 
Annual  Conferences  for  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  we  must  lay 
the  burden  on  the  laity.  The  laity  can  make  this  program 
go;  and  are  ready  to  do  it.  This  idea  that  we  are  trying  to 
make  dominant  is  already  recognized  in  industrial  circles. 
The  laymen  recognize  the  right  of  the  worker  to  his  hire,  and 
are  carrying  this  over  into  the  realm  of  the  Church. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  EXTENSIVE  387 

Ax  Extensive  CAMrAiGx 

It  must  be  an  extensive  campaign.  It  must  swing  into 
line  all  the  Church's  resources  and  activities.  It  must  swing 
the  Bishops  into  line.  They  have  much  to  do,  and  are  contin- 
ually called  upon  for  service ;  but  it  was  for  this  purpose  they 
were  elected  to  their  high  office,  that  they  might  be  the  great 
leaders  in  every  great  and  good  cause.  \Ye  rejoice  to-day  in 
the  knowledge  that  the  Bishops  have  already  entered  enthusi- 
astically into  the  1915  CAMPAIGN.  There  must  be  the 
most  earnest  cooperation  of  the  District  Superintendents, 
those  who  represent  "the  applied  end  of  the  Episcopacy,"  the 
local  Bishops,  by  whom  the  Church  swings  to  victory.  They 
are  the  key  men  of  our  Methodism,  and  every  one  of  them 
must  get  into  line  down  to  the  last  man.  Then  we  must  secure 
the  individual  support  of  the  preacher — not  for  himself,  but 
for  the  great  cause,  into  which  he  must  throw  himself  with 
utter  abandon.  The  importance  of  the  press  to  the  success 
of  the  1915  Cx\MPAIGN  cannot  be  overstated.  We  are 
inclined  to  think  at  times  that  the  press  has  lost  much  of  its 
influence.  But  did  you  notice  that  no  sooner  had  war  broken 
out  in  Europe  than  every  nation  began  appealing  to  the 
American  press  that  it  might  secure  its  influence?  The 
influence  of  the  press !  It  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  It 
was  never  greater  than  at  the  present  time.  Our  denomina- 
tional press  must  be  in  line  with  this  campaign  for  the 
old  preacher.  I  know  what  I  say  when  I  assert  that  every 
editor  in  the  Church  is  interested,  intensely  interested,  in 
this  great  cause. 

As  we  look  at  this  task  and  consider  the  conditions,  we  may 
be  discouraged  at  times,  wondering  if,  after  all,  we  can  suc- 
ceed against  so  many  obstacles  ?  The  old  stoi7  comes  to  mind, 
of  the  drummer  boy  who,  ordered  to  beat  the  retreat,  an- 
swered that  he  knew  not  how.  "But  I  can  beat  a  charge  that 
will  bring  the  dead  to  life."  And  victory  took  the  place  of 
despair.  Let  the  representatives  of  Methodism  beat  a  charge 
that  will  bring  the  dead  to  life.  Then  secure  not  five  million 
dollars,  nor  ten  million  dollars  for  Conference  Claimants,  but 
millions  enough  to  make  the  future  of  the  Methodist  min- 
istry secure. 

Methodism,  rise  and  march  to  victory! 

Boston,  Mass.  E.  C.  E.  Dorion. 


3S8  TIIK   IJETliJKD  MliNlSTEU 

A  FAMILY  AFFAIR 

^'IJOUND  ROBIiSr"  FROM  THE  GENERAL  OFFICERS 

PUBLISHING  AGENTS 

George  P,  Mains 
Publishing  Agent  Methodist  Book  Concern,  New  York 

There  is  no  benevolence  in  the  entire  Church  more  worthy 
in  itself,  none  more  meriting  universal  and  enthusiastic 
cooperation  by  the  entire  Church,  than  the  Veteran  Preachers' 
interest.  My  entire  conviction  and  sympathy  are  with  this 
cause,  and  I  wish  you  the  largest  possible  success  in  its  pro- 
motion. 


II.  C.  Jennings 
General  Ao:ent  Methodist  Book  Concern 


■-&' 


The  Kingdom  which  the  Methodist  preacher  is  helping  to 
bring,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  is  a  Kingdom  built  upon 
sacrifice.  It  is  often  said  that  preachers  are  not  good  business 
men,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  any  man  who  can  take  suc- 
cessful charge  of  a  church;  be  the  general  manager  of  not 
only  all  the  religious  services,  but  of  the  church  debts  and 
the  building  committees;  and  the  raising  of  funds  for  all 
manner  of  causes,  often  on  an  insufficient  living  salary,  and 
keep  his  business  credit  in  perfect  order,  is  a  man  who  if  he 
had  given  himself  to  it  would  have  made  a  successful  business 
man.  Knowing  the  almost  certain  poverty  of  old  age  in  the 
Christian  ministry,  this  preacher  listens  to  the  higher  call 
and  becomes  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  resigning  his  oppor- 
tunities for  money-making  into  the  hands  of  those  who  do 
not  hear  the  same  call  to  higher  service.  These  other  men  in 
business  life  whose  homes  and  whose  opportunities  are  con- 
served by  the  sacrificing  preacher  who  brings  the  better  moral 
tone  into  the  community  are  under  obligations  most  binding 
to  see  that  the  preacher  of  righteousness  is  maintained  in 
decent  comfort  when  he  is,  through  disability,  beyond  the 
power  of  earning.  It  is  therefore  a  simple  justice  to  see  that 
his  old  age  is  cared  for.  The  1915  CAMPAIGN  is  founded 
upon  justice,  and  ought  to  win,  and  it  will  win. 


PUBLISinXG  AGENTS  AXD  EDITORS  389 

E.  K.  Graham 
Publishing  Agent  Methodist  Book  Concern,  Chicago 

Why  a  "Retired  Minister"?  Because  he  has  given  freely 
of  liis  life  forces  to  help  to  establish  the  Kingdom  here  on 
earth,  and  he  is,  therefore,  an  agent  in  making  the  workl 
better  and  bringing  men  into  touch  with  Him  who  gave  the 
command — "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature."  He  did  not  consider  himself  but  the  cause 
he  was  presenting  to  a  sinful  world.  He  gladly  responded 
to  every  call,  day  or  night,  sick  or  well;  and  this  faithful 
work  brought  the  world  under  obligations  to  him.  By  devo- 
tion to  duty  he  overtaxed  the  physical  or  mental  man  so 
that  he  became  a  broken  force  with  nothing  laid  by  for  a 
day  like  this.  Shall  we  pay  tlie  del)t  wliich  the  world  owes 
him,  or  shall  he  suffer  alone  and  in  silence?  For  he  neither 
cliides  nor  complains. 

J.  H.  Race 
Publishing  Agent  Methodist  Book  Concern,  Cincinnati 

What  could  be  finer  than  a  denomination-wide  campaign 
for  our  Retired  Ministers — these  deserving  Veterans  of  Meth- 
odism!  We  all  know  that  each  one  deserves  a  comfortable 
support.  Endowment  funds  should  be  adequate  so  that  each 
of  these  heroes  may  depend  definitely  upon  his  annual  income. 
May  Militant  Methodism  respond  to  the  call ! 


EDITORS 

W.  V.  Kelley 

Editor  Methodist  Review 

To  those  men,  who  have  given  themselves  and  tlicir  all  to 
the  Church  in  lavish  service  through  many  years,  the  Churcli 
shouhl  say,  in  tlieir  years  of  Retirement,  Freely  ye  have  (jiven, 
freely  ye  sliall  receive.         

George  P.  Eckman 
Editor  The  Christian  Advocate 
Every  reason  one  can  tliink  of  for  supporting  a  minister 
of  the  gospel  wliile  lie  is  in  active  service  is  also  a  reason  for 


W.  V.  Kelley 
Levi  Gilbert 
R.  H.  Hughes 
F.  M.  Larkin 


J.  M.  Buckley 
E.  R.  Zaring 
D.  B.  Brummitt 
H.  H.  Meyer 


G.  P.  ECKMAN 

C.  B.  Spencer 

D.  G.  Downey 
J.  R.  Joy 


EDITORS  391 

taking  care  of  him  when  through  age  or  infirmity  he  can  no 
longer  fulfill  his  public  ministry.  Because  in  his  youth  he 
turned  away  from  all  the  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood,  the 
Church  undertook  to  provide  him  with  sustenance.  When  he 
finishes  his  work  the  obligation  to  care  for  him  is  not  re- 
linquished. On  the  contrary  it  is  increased.  The  financial 
opportunities  which  other  men  possess  have  never  come  to 
him.  The  claims  upon  his  income  have  always  equalled  and 
usually  surpassed  his  ability  to  respond  to  them.  He  gave  all 
for  the  Church,  and  the  Church  is  morally  bound  to  protect 
him  from  want.  The  campaign  which  Dr.  Joseph  B.  Hingeley 
is  conducting  under  the  authority  of  the  General  Conference, 
and  the  simultaneous  movements  in  the  same  direction  by 
the  several  Annual  Conferences  of  Methodism,  have  not  begun 
too  soon,  nor  do  they  aim  too  high.  The  Church  will  not  be 
comfortable  until  the  interests  of  the  Conference  Claimants 
have  been  made  secure. 

H.  H.  Meyer 
Editor   Sunday   School  Publications 

The  campaign  for  the  better  support  of  our  Retired  Min- 
isters is  worthy  the  attention  and  active  cooperation  of  every 
one.  No  benevolence  or  missionary  enterprise  has  a  juster 
claim  upon  our  moral  and  financial  support  than  has  this 
fund.  It  should  be  promptly  and  adequately  endowed  and 
thereby  placed  upon  a  sound  business  basis,  lifting  the  sup- 
port of  the  Retired  Ministers  out  of  the  realm  of  benevolences 
into  that  of  recognized  and  deserved  pensions. 


J.  J.  Wallace 
Editor  Pittsburgh  Christian  Advocate 

The  very  best  service  the  preacher  can  render  with  no 
thought  of  reward  or  claim  for  wages  is  involved  in  the 
Divine  call  to  the  Ministry.  The  minimum  of  return  for 
such  service  which  God  calls  the  Church  to  render  is  ade- 
quate provision  for  the  preacher's  needs  and  comfort  as  long 
as  God  leaves  him  on  earth.  The  Campaign  for  Retired 
Preachers  is  a  timely  and  worthy  attempt  to  make  feasible  the 
realization  of  ideals  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


39.'^  TliJ^  KETIKED  MINISTER 

Levi  Gilbert 
Editor  Western  Christian  Advocate 

I  l)clicvc  that  the  Church  will  never  he  satisfied  until  tlic 
pensioning  of  her  honored  Retired  Ministers  is  put  upon  a 
logical  basis.  The  disciplinary  legislation  upon  the  subject 
seems  very  well  thought  out  on  reasona})le  lines.  We  need 
to  push  forward  to  the  full  realization  of  these  statutes.  It  is 
but  just  that  our  aged  and  broken-down  men  should  receive 
the  full  support  for  their  old  age  which  the  legislation  con- 
templates. To  put  them  off  with  only  a  percentage  of  it  is 
not  particularly  creditable  to  us  as  a  great  and  powerful  de- 
nomination. There  is  no  lack  of  money  to  finance  this  proj- 
ect if  only  our  laymen  will  awake  to  the  full  necessity  of  it, 
and  I  have  long  been  of  the  strong  opinion  that  no  Veteran 
should  be  compelled  to  plead  his  poverty  or  need  in  order  to 
get  his  full  claim,  nor  should  he  think  that  because  he  has 
been  a  little  forehanded  and  has  endeavored  to  put  aside  some 
savings  during  his  years,  that  he  ought  to  be  expected  to  give 
up  his  claim,  perhaps  to  have  his  portion  given  over  into  the 
hands  of  some  one  who  has  more  recklessly  used  his  money. 


A.  J.  Nast 
Editor  Dcr  Christliche  Apologete 

The  Campaign  of  1915  to  raise  a  Fund  of  Five  Million 
Dollars  for  the  Conference  Claimants  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  will  find  a  hearty  response  in  the  breast 
of  every  Methodist  who  apj^reciates  the  great  debt  the  Church 
owes  to  those  noble  messengers  of  the  Cross,  who,  obeying 
the  call  of  their  Master,  have  counted  all  things  but  loss  for 
the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  their  Lord, 
and  for  the  privilege  of  spreading  abroad  the  honor  of  His 
Name  to  a  world  redeemed  by  His  Blood. 

The  proper  provision  for  their  temporal  comfort  in  the 
old  age  is  but  a  recognition  of  God's  ordinance  that  "those 
who  preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel."  "Should 
it  be  thought  a  great  thing,"  the  Apostle  Paul  exclaims,  "if 
we,  who  have  sown  unto  you  spiritual  things,  should  reap 
your  carnal  things  ?"  The  spiritual  debt  we  owe  to  the  great 
army  of  faithful  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  can  never  be  fully 


EDITOKS  393 

paid  in  gold  or  silver;  but  to  withhold  tlie  gold  and  silver 
would  be  the  height  of  niggardliness  and  dishonor. 


A.    J.    BUCIIER 

Editor  Haus  und  Herd 

Even  under  the  Old  Testament  dispensation  ministers  were 
well  provided  for,  who  gave  themselves  wholly  and  for  life 
to  the  service  of  tJie  sanctuary.  Could  the  Church  to-day 
wish  to  do  less?  Her  provision  must  extend  over  the  whole 
of  that  period  in  the  life  of  her  faithful  ministers,  in  which 
they  are  utterly  unable  to  provide  for  themselves.  If  a  man 
of  God  has  given  his  all  to  the  Church  m  his  best  years,  the 
Church  during  his  worst  years  should  give  him  at  least  what 
he  needs. 

E.  R.  Zaring 
Editor  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate 

The  cause  of  the  Eetired  Minister  in  the  JMethodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  reality  needs  no  defence.  We  all  agree  that 
in  taking  his  ministerial  vows  to  go  wherever  he  may  be  sent, 
the  minister  earns  the  gratitude  of  the  Church  to  the  extent 
that  he  should  be  provided  for  in  his  declining  days.  The 
average  Methodist  Episcopal  Preacher's  salary  is  small  and 
the  demands  made  upon  him  are  many.  He  is  generous  to  the 
fault.  He  is  a  soldier  and  is  earning  his  pension  just  as  sol- 
diers in  the  standing  army  of  the  Nation  are  earning  their 
pensions.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Minister  went  to  the  front 
when  there  were  others  who  did  not  answer  the  call.  Can  we 
afford  not  to  provide  for  him?    Is  not  his  claim  a  just  one? 


C.  B.  Spencer 
Editor  Central  Christian  Advocate 

I  hope  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  for  five  million  will  cud  in 
exultant  triumph.  The  endeavor  for  Annual  Conference 
organizations  strikes  near  home  and  to  it  the  people  will 
respond,  but  we  need  also  the  wider  or  connectional  view  that 
builds  up  a  strong  treasury  independent  of  Conference  lines. 
Really  there  is  nothing  that  will  prove  such  a  strong  con- 


394  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

nectional  tie  as  a  great  Connectional  Fund  administered  by  a 
connectional  society.  Success  to  you.  Our  heroes  need  you; 
and  we  too  who  will  be  coming  along  presently. 


R.  E.  Jones 
Editor  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate 

When  a  man  enters  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  he  solemnly  agrees  to  go  cheerfully  wherever 
he  is  sent.  And  often  in  the  interest  of  the  work,  ministers 
are  put  in  strategic  places  where  they  suffer  inconvenience 
and  discomfiture  both  for  themselves  and  their  families. 
When  they  surrender  themselves  thus  to  the  denomination 
for  the  good  of  the  denomination  it  is  only  just  and  equitable 
that  they  should  be  provided  for  in  their  old  age.  Eor  this 
reason,  the  work  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  is 
carrying  forward  an  imperial  task  of  the  Church.  The  Board 
is  meeting  an  obligation  that  is  brotherly,  just,  equitable  and 
thoroughly  in  line  with  modern  humanitarian  movements. 
If  he  who  gives  himself  to  the  country  is  worthy  of  a  pen- 
sion; no  less  worthy  is  he  who  gives  himself  to  the  Church; 
for  often  in  our  stead  he  suffers  privation  and  inconvenience, 
therefore,  we  should  share  with  him  some  comforts  of  life  in 
his  old  age.  

R.  II.  Hughes 
Editor  Pacific  Christian  Advocate 

As  I  have  gone  to  the  Conferences  year  after  year,  the  one 
thing  that  has  astonished  me  above  everything  else  as  a  lay- 
man, is  the  absolute  unselfishness  of  a  vast  majority  of  the 
Methodist  Preachers.  They  receive  only  a  meager  allowance; 
a  very  large  percentage  of  them  tithe,  and  then  at  Conference 
they  give,  and  give  until  it  really  hurts,  for  the  causes  pre- 
sented. I  have  often  said  that  a  collection  would  be  much 
more  appropriate  than  asking  them  to  contribute.  But  one 
of  the  prime  requisites  of  a  follower  of  Jesus  is  unselfishness. 

Then  what  about  the  day  of  retirement  for  the  sacrificing 
minister  ?  The  laymen  should  provide  against  that  day.  The 
campaign  for  $5,000,000  is  one  of  the  most  vital  before  the 
Church  to-day.     May  it  succeed,  and  may  God  speed  the 


EDITOTJS  395 

clay  when  the  "Old  Veterans"  may  spend  their  declining  years 
in  the  comforting  assurance  that  the  great  Church  they  un- 
selfishly served  will  see  that  they  want  naught. 


Dan  B.  Brummitt 
Editor  The  Epworth  Herald 

One  thing  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  needs  to  do  just 
now  with  regard  to  the  Eetired  Preacher  is  to  make  his  lot  as 
comfortable  relatively  in  one  part  of  the  Church  as  in  another. 
If  we  are  connectional  at  all  we  surely  should  be  in  our  deal- 
ings with  the  men  who  have  made  us  a  connection.  It  is  not 
the  fault  of  any  Ivetired  Preacher  that  he  happens  to  be  in  a 
Conference  whose  funds  are  scant;  and  it  is  not  fair  that  the 
Conference  of  the  scant  funds  should  be  blamed  more  than 
other  Conferences  for  its  treatment  of  the  Veterans.  If  the 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants  does  nothing  more  than  level 
up  this  particular  form  of  inequality  and  inequity,  it  will 
justify  the  purposes  of  its  existence.  I  believe  it  will  do 
much  more  than  that. 

F.  M.  Larkin 
Editor  C^alifornia  Christian  Advocate 

It  would  be  difficult  to  improve  on  the  Discipline  of  the 
Church  in  what  it  says  in  reference  to  the  cause  of  the  Vet- 
eran Preacher.  If  the  Church  succeeds  in  carrying  out  the 
plan  suggested  by  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  and  the 
law  of  the  Church  as  found  in  the  Discipline  very  much  will 
be  accomplished  in  the  redemption  of  the  pledges  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  which  have  been  a  part  of  the  law 
from  the  beginning,  to  provide  a  comfortable  support  for 
every  Eetired  Minister.  Let  every  Conference  apportion 
the  full  amount  and  give  the  laymen  the  opportunity  of  meet- 
ing it.  This  is  the  first  and  most  important  step  in  securing 
an  adequate  support  for  our  Eetired  Ministers. 

J.  J.  Manker 
Editor  Methodist  Advocate  Journal 

The  campaign  inaugurated  by  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants,   with   the   endorsement   and   cooperation   of   the 


35)6  THE  EETIRP]D  MINISTEK 

Bishops,  for  securing  a  more  adequate  support  for  the  Eetired 
Ministers  and  the  widows  and  orphan  children  of  our  de- 
ceased ministers,  is  worthy  of  all  praise  and  merits  the  hearty 
cooperation  of  all  ministers  and  laymen. 

The  ministers  now  on  the  Retired  list  lahored  under  greater 
difficulties  and  received  smaller  compensations  for  tlieir  serv- 
ices than  most  of  those  now  in  service,  and  they  are  conse- 
quently more  in  need  of  lielp  in  their  declining  years.  Their 
very  necessities  appeal  to  us  who  are  yet  on  the  "firing  line" 
and  on  the  score  of  justice  and  generosity  touch  our  nobler 
nature  and  call  us  to  do  our  best  in  their  behalf. 

We  who  are  to-day  bearing  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
struggle  soon  will  be  laid  aside  ourselves,  and  then  the  very 
beneficence  that  we  are  now  providing  for  others  will  inure 
to  our  benefit  in  our  time  of  need.  x\s  we  now  do  unto 
others,  even  so  by  and  by  will  it  be  done  unto  us.  Thus  we 
shall  be  doul)ly  blessed,  having  the  consciousness  of  having 
done  the  right  and  worthy  thing  for  worthy  and  needy 
brethren,  and  having  the  assurance  that  when  the  dark  and 
cloudy  day  shall  come  to  us  there  shall  be  light  and  cheer 
for  us.  

David  G.  Downey 
Book  Editor  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

The  cause  of  the  Veteran  Preacher !  Need  we  say  more  ? 
There  is  every  reason  in  the  world  why  we  should  be  proudly 
anxious  and  glad  to  help  these  noble  men.  By  their  years  of 
devotion,  by  their  days  of  old  age,  by  their  love  for  us  and 
our  love  for  them  the  appeal  is  made  strong  and  irresistible. 
God  speed  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  in  behalf  of  these,  our 
elder  brothers ! 


CORRESPONDING  SECRETARIES 

S.  Earl  Taylor 
Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 

We  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  can  well  understand 
the  urgency  wliich  prompts  your  Board  to  undertake  a  move- 
ment for  the  ])ctter  care  of  the  Retired  Preacher,  because  we 


CORKKSrONDING  SECRETAU1P]S  397 

ourselves  are  facing  new  conditions  whicli  make  it  necessary 
for  us  to  make  better  provision  for  our  retired  missionaries, 
and  to  secure  those  larger  sums  which  are  necessary  for  the 
furtherance  of  our  world-wide  work.  We  wish  you  Godspeed 
in  your  great  effort. 

W.  F.  Oldham 

Corresj)onding  Secretary  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
What  concerns  me  much  in  providing  suitably  for  our  Vet- 
eran Preachers  is  that  failure  at  this  point  cuts  the  tap  root 
of  enthusiasm  for  entering  the  Ministry.  This  is  true,  not 
so  much  on  the  part  of  the  eager  young  candidates  as  of  their 
parents  and  friends  who  seeing  the  distressing  conditions 
under  which  old  age  and  feebleness  find  our  Veterans,  may  be 
pardoned  for  trying  to  keep  their  sons  from  so  uninviting  a 
prospect.  We  cannot  hope  for  the  enrollment  of  a  steady 
stream  of  capable  and  spiritually  trained  men  at  the  front 
doors  of  our  Conferences  if  the  back  doors  open  upon  pov- 
erty and  distress. 


F.  M.  North 
Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
Your  favor  followed  me  across  the  Pacific,  and  reaclied 
me  when  I  was  occupied  with  travel  and  close  work  in  our 
fields  here.  I  feel  quite  sure  that  you  need  no  new  expres- 
sion of  my  interest  in  this  matter.  It  has  been  a  satisfaction 
to  me  that  I  was  able  in  the  beginning  of  the  quadrennium 
to  give  your  Cam23aign  a  push  forward. 

A.  B.  Leonard 
Secretary  Emeritus  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 

The  campaign  you  are  so  vigorously  and  successfully  lead- 
ing for  a  more  generous  support  of  Eetired  Ministers,  their 
widows  and  orphans,  is  worthy  of  the  generous  support  of  the 
entire  Church. 

Its  success  will  not  only  give  good  cheer  to  preachers  al- 
ready retired,  but  will  greatly  hearten  many  now  in  the  active 
ranks,  poorly  supported,  who  are  looking  forward  to  retire- 
ment in  the  oncoming  years.  Best  wishes  for  highest  suc- 
cess. 


398  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

Waed  Platt 

CV)rres|)ondijig  Secretary  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension 

It  is  a  paramount  claim.  He  has  more  than  earned  it.  He 
has  invested  his  life  for  the  Church  and  the  Kingdom;  and 
the  Church  cannot  do  less  than  provide  for  him  when  he  re- 
tires from  a  life  service  out  of  which  he  was  able  to  bring 
little  or  nothing  for  the  time  when  he  might  most  need  it. 


C.    M.    BOSWELL 

Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension 

The  1915  CAMPAIGN  for  the  Retired  Preachers  con- 
ducted by  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  merits  the 
most  liberal  support  of  Ministers  and  laymen.  The  amount 
asked  for  the  cause  will  not  only  aid  in  making  Veteran  Min- 
isters comfortable  in  their  sunsetting  years  but  will  also 
assure  the  young  minister,  entering  upon  his  life's  work,  of 
a  supporting  provision  for  his  latter  years  if  he  shall  fully 
dedicate  his  life  and  talents  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 


F.    D.    BOVARD 

Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension 

The  campaign  for  the  support  of  the  Retired  Ministers  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  should  have  the  hearty  co- 
operation of  all  the  departments  of  the  Church.  Adequate 
support  for  the  Retired  Preachers  will  greatly  strengthen  the 
ranks  of  the  itineracy.     Success  to  your  most  worthy  cause. 


Robert  Forbes 

Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 

Church  Extension 

The  amount  paid  to  a  Conference  Claimant  is  an  equity, 
not  a  charity.  The  superannuated  man  gave  his  life  to  the 
service  of  the  Church  on  a  mere  support,  while  others  were 
making  money.  Robert  Burns  said  that  Age  and  Want 
are  an  "ill-matched  pair."   Let  honored  age  in  "the  Methodist 


CORRESPONDING  SECRETARIES  309 

Ministry  be   free   from   want.      Tlie    Conference   Claimants' 
Eund  is  the  most  sacred  of  all  funds. 


P.  J.  Maveety 

Corresponding  Secretary  Freedmen's  Aid  Society 

I  am  tremendously  interested  in  the  effort  which  is  being 
put  forth  to  raise  a  fund  whose  income  shall  make  comfortable 
the  last  years  of  our  Retired  Ministers  and  their  wives.  There 
is  no  cause  in  the  whole  Church  which  has  a  louder  call  than 
that  of  the  men  who  did  the  pioneer  work  of  establishing  and 
building  churches,  and  making  possible  the  wealth  and  pros- 
perity of  our  whole  Methodist  membership.  In  my  early  min- 
istry I  was  frequently  solicited  by  Retired  Ministers,  whose 
only  means  of  support  was  canvassing  for  books,  and  at  that 
time  I  sincerely  hoped  that  the  day  would  not  be  far  distant 
when  a  man,  who  had  given  his  life  to  the  moral  and  spiritual 
enrichment  of  his  fellow  men,  should  not  be  in  abject  poverty 
himself  in  his  old  age.  As  the  inheritors  of  the  fruits  of  the 
labors  of  these  men  and  women,  we  of  the  younger  generation 
should  at  least  provide  against  the  poverty  and  suffering  of 
the  makers  of  our  riches  in  their  old  age.  We  are  well  able  to 
do  this,  and  are  going  to  do  it.    This  movement  must  succeed. 


Thomas  Nicholson- 
Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Education 

I  thoroughly  believe  in  the  effort  to  provide  amply  for  the 
Retired  Ministers  of  our  Church.  In  this  day  when  railroads 
and  corporations  are  pensioning  their  faithful  employees, 
when  almost  every  State  in  the  Union  is  making  some  pro- 
vision for  a  pension  fund  for  its  teachers,  and  when  the 
rewards  of  business  are  constantly  becoming  ample  enough 
to  enable  the  employees  to  provide  for  themselves,  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  Church  should  show  due  liberality  toward 
her  Veteran  Ministers.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  are  two 
movements  to  which  Methodism  should  give  itself  with  its 
whole  heart :  First,  to  raise  the  minimum  salary  for  a  preacher 
in  every  Conference  so  that  every  acceptable  Minister  will 
have  a  living  wage,  and  then  to  provide  a  sufficient  retiring 
allowance  to  enable  that  man  to  give  himself  unreservedly  to 


400  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

his  work  without  distraction  through  the  necessity  of  mak- 
ing money  to  provide  for  his  declining  years. 


Edgar  Blake 
Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Sunday  Schools 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  owes  it  to  the  Veteran 
Preacher  to  make  his  support  sufficient  for  his  needs,  and  to 
stop  the  policy  of  giving  him  the  crumbs  that  fall  from 
others'  tables.  His  claim  should  be  tlie  first  to  be  raised  in 
full.  If  any  man  must  lack,  let  it  not  be  he.  The  1915  CAM- 
PAIGN of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  is  the  most 
comprehensive  and  statesmanlike  procedure  that  has  ever 
been  attempted  in  behalf  of  Veteran  Preachers  in  the  history 
of  Methodism.  May  it  succeed  beyond  even  the  fondest  hopes 
of  the  Corresponding  Secretary  and  his  colaborers. 


J.    B.    HiNGELEY 

Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Conference  Claimants 

'^Whatsoever  things  are  Honest,  whatsoever  things  are  Just, 
whatsoever  things  are  Pure,  whatsoever  things  are  Lovely, 
whatsoever  things  are  of  Good  Eeport ;  if  there  be  any  A^irtue 
and  if  there  be  any  Praise,  think  on  these  things":  and  re- 
member that  the  Veterans  of  the  Cross  were  "honest,"  ''just," 
''pure,"  "lovely,"  "of  good  report,"  examples  of  "virtue"  and 
worthy  of  "praise,"  and  that  the  Church  which  neglects  them 
cannot  itself  remain  "honest,"  "just,"  "pure"  or  "lovely,"  nor 
can  it  be  "of  good  report,"  for  "virtue"  in  a  world  which  in  so 
many  ways  recognizes  and  praises  the  pension  competency 
for  old  as^e. 

W.  F.  Sheridan- 
General  Secretary  Epworth  League 

The  Church  owes  a  debt  to  its  Retired  Preachers  which  it 
never  can  repay.  These  men  are  the  hidden  pillars  upon 
which  the  Church  of  to-day  stands.  They  have  laid  broad 
and  deep  the  foundations  of  the  Church's  present  prosperity. 
I  trust  that  you  will  be  gloriously  successful  in  raising  funds 
adequate  to  the  needs  of  these  Heroes  of  the  Cross. 


COEKESPONBING  SECRETAEIES  401 

Clarence  T.  Wilson 
Corresponding  Secretary  Temperance  Society 

I  am  greatly  stirred  and  thoroughly  grateful  to  hear  of 
your  proposed  plan  to  endow  the  great  movement  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Conference  Claimants.  These  men  have  purchased 
the  lots,  built  our  churches,  won  our  members,  organized  our 
colleges,  paid  our  debts,  started  our  beneficent  enterprises, 
made  our  civilization,  reformed  our  abuses  and  suffered  for 
every  good  cause.  Is  it  not  time  we  were  doing  something 
worthy  for  them  and  something  worthy  of  ourselves? 

When  they  volunteered  for  this  service,  we  put  them  up 
before  the  Conference  and  made  them  vow  to  go  where  sent, 
to  live  on  what  was  given  them  and  to  make  no  complaints. 
They  have  carried  out  their  part  of  the  contract;  and  what  is 
our  part  but  to  see  that  when  the  field  work  is  done,  the  pen- 
sion is  adequate  to  support  them  in  comfort  until  the  end? 
There  ought  to  be  millions  in  your  treasury  to  supplement  the 
meager  offerings  of  the  Conferences  and  hold  up  the  hands  of 
these  representatives  of  the  cross. 


W.  S.  BOVARD 

General  Secretary  Methodist  Brotherhood 
I  congratulate  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  upon  the 
plan  and  progress  of  the  campaign  for  a  suitable  sum  of 
money  with  which  to  care  for  the  Veteran  Ministers.  No 
cause  making  its  appeal  to  the  Church  meets  with  more  gen- 
eral and  more  hearty  response  than  the  appeal  for  these  funds. 
The  Church  is  seeing  that  it  is  not  simply  a  benefit  to  the 
Retired  Ministers,  but  a  great  stimulus  to  men  looking  toward 
the  ministry  or  now  bearing  its  burdens.  The  Church  is 
also  seeing  that  the  laymen  are  serving  themselves  by  pro- 
tecting the  ministry  against  the  temptation  to  remain  in  the 
active  ranks  after  they  should  be  upon  the  pension  roll.  Suc- 
cess is  bound  to  crown  your  efforts. 


D.  W.  Howell 
Corresponding  Secretary  General  Deaconess  Board 
I  sincerely  trust  that  the  Campaign  of  1915  will  be  all 
that  you  desire.     It  seems  to  me  that  if  the  preachers  give 


402  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

the  strength  of  their  manhood  to  the  development  of  the 
Kingdom  that  the  Clmrch  should  amply  provide  for  them  in 
ohl  age.  The  only  proper  and  honorable  care  that  the  Church 
sliould  offer  to  the  Retired  Preachers  is  a  care-free  old  age. 


WHY  DON'T  YOU  SPEAK  FOR  YOURSELF,  JOHN?" 
By  a  Methodist  Pbiscilla  to  John,  the  Preacher 

Hoarse?  Yes,  hoarse  from  shouting 
For  the  brown  men  of  Japan ; 
Sore-throated  from  long  preaching 
On  the  lost  in  Palawan ; 
Vocal  cords  all  rasping 
Prom  lambasting  Holy  Rome; — 
And  not  a  breath  for  whispering 
For  the  Broivnies  in  your  home. 

Tired?    Yes,  tired  from  working 
For  the  mothers  in  Ceylon; 
For  the  foot-bound  Chinese  mothers 
Limping,  hobbling  in  Canton 
Far  away  and  distant. 
Under  minaret  and  dome; — 
Tired?    Too  tired  for  thinking 
Of  the  Mother  in  your  home. 

Pleading?    Tears  a-streaming 

Down  your  cheek;  with  sobbing  voice, 

For  the  alien  and  stranger. 

That  they  make  your  heaven  their  choice? 

Anxious  for  the  Hindu  children 

Far  away  across  the  foam; — 

What  about  these  orphan  children 

Of  your  Pastor  here  at  home? 

Out  of  patience  with  the  Veteran 
Who  will  not  lie  down  and  die? 
With  the  Widow  and  the  Orphan 
Who  distract  you  with  their  cry? 
No?    Forgive  you?    You  don't  mean  it? 
Far  away  you  will  not  roam? 
You  repent?     Then  sure  ivill  care  for 
Those  who  dwell  within  your  home. 


WE'LL  DO  IT! 

BISHOP  W.  F.  OLDHAM 

Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 


'^Tliej  took  US  for  life — let  them  see  us  thru/'  was  the 
homely  but  unmistakably  clear  putting  of  the  case  by  the 
liev.  Varnum  A.  Cooper,  D.D.,  to  the  New  England  Con- 
ference.   It  is  true.    It  is  reasonable.    It  is  just. 

When  the  young  man  after  years  of  rigorous  and  expensive 
training  stood  at  the  door  of  the  Annual  Conference  he 
approached  the  Church  of  his  choice  with  mingled  feelings 
of  high  hope  and  utter  abandon.  His  hope  was  that  oppor- 
tunity would  be  given  him  to  preach  Christ's  Gospel,  which 
he  felt  with  glow  of  soul  to  be  "the  Power  of  God  unto  Salva- 
tion." He  was  eager  to  be  at  it  and  asked  few  questions,  if 
any,  about  his  earthly  compensations.  He  expected  to  marry 
and  in  due  course  to  welcome  the  children  God  might  send 
him.  But  his  was  no  prudent  calculation  of  the  exact  means 
for  the  support  of  himself  and  those  dear  ones  whom  in  his 
young  enthusiasm  and  other-worldly  devotion  he  committed 
to  the  care  of  the  church,  at  whose  altars  he  was  converted, 
under  whose  fostering  care  he  had  grown,  and  to  whose 
service  he  was  consecrating  his  talents,  his  labors,  his  family, 
his  life,  his  all. 

Because  of  his  eager  youth,  his  fine  preparedness,  his 
enthusiasm  and  his  quality,  the  Church  received  him  gladly. 
When  he  was  presented  to  the  Conference,  and  the  Board  of 
Examiners  reported  on  his  case,  and  the  District  Superin- 
tendent followed  in  a  brief  statement,  closing  with  the  words, 
"Bishoj),  there  is  nothing  against  him,''  the  older  men 
saw  again  the  picture  of  their  own  youthful  days,  and  their 
eyes  Avere  moist  while  they  cried  aloud,  "Amen !    Amen !" 

And  so  the  Church  took  the  young  minister  for  life; 
and  for  thirty,  forty  or  it  might  be  fifty  years  he  has  given 
to  it  the  best  there  was  in  him.    Unstintedly  he  has  poured 

403 


404  THP]  EETIRED  MINISTER 

himself  out.  He  has  been  "in  labors  abundant."  Ilis  ser- 
mons have  been  on  every  possible  subject  that  can  engage 
human  attention.  He  has  appeared  before  every  kind  of 
Society,  from  the  Masons  bedecked  in  solemn  pomp,  and  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  with  its  pathetic  group  of 
feeble  but  grand  old  men,  to  the  "Sisters  of  the  Maccabees" 
and  the  children  of  the  "Loyal  Legion" — and  to  all  of  them 
he  has  spoken  the  fitting,  Christly  word.  He  has  been  cease- 
less in  pastoral  and  community  labors;  advising  the  careless, 
counseling  the  perplexed,  stimulating  the  indolent,  urging 
the  timid.  He  has  sent  scores  of  young  people  to  high  school 
and  college,  advised  others  in  their  choice  of  a  life  work; 
has  married  the  youths,  baptized  the  babies,  visited  the  sick, 
watched  by  the  dying,  buried  the  dead — and  above  all  has 
yearned  over  the  wayward,  has  pleaded  with  the  erring,  and 
"has  brought  many  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Meanwhile  financial  matters  have  pressed  upon  him.  A 
family  has  come;  the  children  have  had  to  be  schooled  and 
suitably  kept;  there  have  been  books  to  buy,  and  endless 
social  duties  to  meet.  He  has  contributed  to  every  collec- 
tion and  has  often  been  the  mainstay  of  "the  benevolences." 
His  home  has  been  headquarters  for  church  guests,  and  he 
has  never  turned  away  from  the  poor.  He  is  often  blamed 
for  lack  of  thrift;  but  the  money  he  spends  on  others  is  the 
only  money  he  has  really  "laid  up." 

Meanwhile  the  boys  and  girls  whose  education  has  always 
kept  the  preacher-couple  at  the  borders  of  want  are  scat- 
tered and  gone.  They  are  now  in  those  efforts  in  getting 
started  in  life  which  are  the  common  experience  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  parsonage. 

And  now  it  comes  towards  evening.  His  hair  is  frosted, 
and  his  pastoral  feet  do  not  trip  readily  from  door  to  door. 
His  sermons,  too,  though  packed  with  the  weighty  advices 
of  a  lifetime,  are  not  as  merrily  full  of  cheer  as  those  of 
his  less  knowing  youth.  It  has  been  hard  for  several  years 
to  place  him.  the  fact  is  that  the  preacher  has  grown 
old,  and  must  give  place  to  younger  men. 

Where  is  he  to  turn  for  shelter  and  food  as  evening  gathers 
about  him?  Will  the  Church,  that  took  him  in  his  youth, 
and  to  whom  he  has  given  unstintedly  the  strength  of  his 
manhood  years,  with  material  compensations  far  below  the 


WE'LL  DO  IT  405 

level  achieved  by  others  of  his  parts  and  training  in  other 
vocations  of  life,  now  reassure  him  as  he  comes  towards  the 
end  of  his  active  days?  Was  not  that  the  implied  covenant 
through  all  the  strenuous  and  poorly  paid  years?  Was  not 
he  to  give  the  best  he  had  and  was  not  the  Church  in  its  turn 
to  see  that  his  outpoured  life  was  to  be  sacredly  guarded 
from  the  most  dreaded  of  stalking  ghosts — an  old  age  of 
feebleness  and  penury?  And  besides,  there's  the  old  preach- 
er's wife,  and  what  he  might  bear  for  himself,  how  shall  he 
bear  for  her  ? 

Is  it  not  a  refinement  of  cruelty  as  well  as  a  breach  of 
implied  trust  for  the  Church  in  the  end  to  fail  this  man? 
It  is  true  he  has  not  been  a  close  financier.  He  has  not 
painfully  counted  or  pinched  the  pennies  he  drew  from  his 
pocket;  he  has  been  too  busy  trying  to  persuade  others  to 
follow  him  in  the  support  of  every  good  cause.  And,  trutli 
to  tell,  the  margin  between  respectable  living  demanded  of 
him  and  the  last  dollar  of  salary  was  never  noticeably  wide. 

And  so,  to  return  to  the  question,  what  will  the  Church 
say  to  this  anxious  man  as  he  now  for  the  first  time  inquires, 
and  justly,  as  to  what  provision  is  being  made  for  his  remain- 
ing days  ?  He  is  now,  in  the  telling  phrase  of  the  older  day, 
"A  Worn  Out  Minister."  Will  not  the  Church,  in  whose 
service  he  wore  himself  out,  fulfill  its  part  of  the  contract  ? 

Surely  our  laymen — men  of  the  market,  the  shop,  the 
court-house,  the  office  and  the  farm — need  only  look  at  this 
question  in  its  broader  aspects  to  determine  at  once  what 
a  square  deal  calls  for. 

"They  took  us  for  life — ^let  them  see  us  through." 

Tlte  retired  minister  must  he  provided  with  a  modest  com- 
petency. Shame  must  not  be  brought  upon  the  Church,  nor 
heart-break  to  the  old  preacher  and  his  loved  companion 
by  failure  at  this  point.  And  it  can  so  easily  be  done. 
Let  pastors  give  the  people  the  actual  facts  without  apology. 
Then  let  us  all  pull  together  to  raise  the  ten  million  dollar 
endowment.     It  needs  to  be  done  only  once  for  all. 

Kindness,  Thoughtfulness,  Gratitude,  Justice,  Fair  Play, 
all  say,  "Do  it."  What  shall  be  the  answer  of  the  individual 
pastor — what  the  reply  of  the  individual  layman?  May 
there  not  be  a  quick,  glad  response  from  all :     Well  do  it  I 

William  F.  Oldham. 


406  THE  RETIRED  MINISTEH 

THE  HERO  FUXD 

"Some  (lay  a  millionaire  may  establish  a  ^hero  fund'  for 
country  ministers  who  spend  their  lives  in  the  service  of  the 
community,  not  only  ministering  weekly  to  their  congrega- 
tions, but  marrying  the  young  people,  visiting  the  sick,  bury- 
ing the  dead  and  responding  to  every  call.  Not  the  least  part 
of  their  heroism  consists  in  their  willingness  to  serve  for  the 
pitiful  salaries  paid  in  some  small  towns,  salaries  smaller 
than  the  wages  of  a  carpenter  or  a  blacksmith  and  less  than  a 
(lay  laborer  gets  in  cities." — Youth's  Companion. 

C.  H.  McRea 

Youth's  fire  had  faded  from  his  face, 

And  Time  had  wrinkles  sent  him; 
The  crown  of  age,  the  hoary  head, 

The  other  world  has  lent  him. 
His  step  is  slow,  his  eye  is  dim; 
There  is  no  hero  fund  for  him. 

When  first  he  heard  the  trumpet  call 

To  preach  the  glad  evangel. 
His  heart,  responsive,  said,  "I  will," 

As  might  a  strong  archangel. 
He  preached  that  mighty  word  with  vim — 
But  there's  no  hero  fund  for  him. 

By  day  and  night,  through  flood  and  fire, 

O'er  dying  sinners  yearning; 
He  pulled  the  sinking  from  the  tide, 

The  brands  from  out  the  burning; 
Desire  is  dying  now,  and  dim 
The  hope  of  hero  fund  for  him. 

The  meanness  of  the  narrow  souls, 

Who  starved  him  in  the  service. 
Is  fearful  now — when  health  is  gone — 

That  wealth  might  make  him  nervous. 
The  claimant's  dole  is  spare  and  slim. 
There  is  no  hero  fund  for  him. 

But  O,  the  chariots  of  God 

Are  ready  to  move  straightway 
To  bear  the  conquering  hero  home 

Whene'er  he  sights  the  gateway! 
'Tis  sunset  o'er  the  world's  red  rim, 
The  hero  fund  is  full  for  him. 


PART  III.     THE  CLAIM  SUPREME 


CHAPTER  III.     AGENCIES 


Mains.  .  . 

Hitchcock. 
Greenfield. 


PAGE 


409 

413 
415 


The  Publishing  Agents 408 

The  Book  Concern 

Story  of  the  Saddlebags.     Adams.  .  .  .412 

The  Chartered  Fund 

Annual  Conference  Endowments 

Annual  Conference  Agents 420 

Contributions  from  Pastoral  Charges.  . 

Annual  Conference  Agents 424 

Board  of  Conference  Claimants Hamilton 425 

Veterans  of  the  Cross  Fellowship Cooper 429 


Clemans 421 


JOHN  H.  RACB 


EDWIN  R.  GRAHAM 


CLAIMANTS'  GREAT  ASSET 

THE  BOOK  CONCERN 

THE  REV.  GEORGE  P.  MAINS,  D.D.,LL.D 

Publishing  Agent  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 


I  would  like  to  emphasize  two  facts  about  the  Book  Con- 
cern, and  also  make  a  suggestion  which  I  hope  may  be  re- 
ceived with  large  hos|)itality. 

First.  While  I  cheerfully  recognize  the  large  service  which 
the  Book  Concern  has  been  able  to  render  to  the  Retired 
Ministers,  I  nevertheless  think  that  there  is  some  danger 
that  this  specific  mission  may  be  unduly  emphasized  at  the 
exj)ense  of  what  is  fundamentally  and  really  its  great  mis- 
sion, namely,  that  of  furnishing  the  Church  with  the  best 
literature  at  the  most  reasonable  cost  to  the  consumer.  I 
yield  to  no  person  in  my  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Retired 
Preacher,  and  believe  that  he  should  not  only  receive  the 
largest  recognition  of  sympathy  and  approval  from  the 
Church,  but  that  it  is  a  supreme  duty  of  the  Church  to  see 
that  his  old  age  is  ministered  to  in  comfort  by  a  support  that 
shall  be  adequate  to  his  needs.  In  the  thought  of  many 
observers  it  is  an  anomalous  thing  that  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  should  subsidize  its  literature  in  the  interest  of 
making  dividends  to  the  Annual  Conferences  in  behalf  of  the 
Veteran  and  Retired  Preachers.  I  do  not  myself  quarrel  with 
the  proposition  that  from  its  surplus  earnings  the  Book  Con- 
cern shall  make  generous  bestowments  in  their  interests.  I 
simply  have  a  feeling  that  at  present  we  are  unduly  empha- 
sizing the  function  of  the  Book  Concern  in  this  particular 
relation.  There  are  some  people  who  seem  to  be  in  danger 
of  losing  sight,  pretty  much  altogether,  of  the  real  mission 
for  which  the  Book  Concern  was  established.  I  know  person- 
ally men  of  prominence  who  are  continually  urging  upon  us 
the  necessity  of  earning  large  amounts  of  money  in  order  that 
we  may  make  generous  dividends  to  the  worn-out  preachers, 
vet,  if  I  were  entirely  frank,  I  would  be  bound  to  say  that 

409 


410  THE  IJETlIiED  MINISTEII 

from  the  lips  of  several  of  these  men  I  have  never  heard  one 
single  suggestion  with  reference  to  the  supreme  importance 
that  the  Book  Concern  shall  consider  it  to  he  its  primary 
mission  to  furnish  to  our  great  constituency  the  best  Church 
literature  possible  at  the  lowest  sustaining  costs. 

When  the  Book  Concern  was  first  founded  its  promoters 
were  all  poor.  The  best  of  them  received  only  a  meager, 
living  support.  It  was  a  very  natural  and  legitimate  thing 
that  if  any  earnings  were  made  by  the  publication  house  in 
excess  of  the  real  needs  of  the  business,  such  earnings  should 
be  divided  among  the  traveling  preachers  of  that  early  day. 
Our  present  condition,  however,  is  widely  different  from  that 
which  then  prevailed.  We  now  have  a  great  and  wealthy 
Church  with  a  lay  membership  rapidly  approximating  four 
millions;  a  Church  from  whose  prosperity  the  creation  of  a 
fund  which  would  be  adequate  to  give  comfort  to  all  our 
Eetired  Ministers,  if  entered  upon  dutifully  and  cheerfully, 
would  hardly  call  for  an  appreciable  reduction  of  current 
resources.  It  is  my  very  firm  conviction  that  whatever  the 
Book  Concern  may  now  do,  or  may  be  able  to  do  for  this 
interest  in  the  future,  the  Church  as  a  whole  should  respond 
to  the  summons  of  the  General  Conference  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  fund  which  shall  place  the  Methodist  Veteran 
in  his  old  age  on  a  basis  of  financial  support  not  excelled  by 
any  other  Church  in  Christendom. 

Second.  The  aid  which  the  Book  Concern  has  already 
rendered  to  the  Conference  Claimants  funds  represents  a 
great  fact,  worthy  of  all  emphasis.  I  understand  from  the 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants that  an  effort  is  now  to  be  made  to  raise  an  endowment 
fund  of  five  million  dollars,  the  proceeds  of  which  shall  be 
devoted  in  perpetuo  to  supplementing  the  present  provisions 
for  the  support  of  Eetired  Preachers.  I  might  very  properly 
congratulate  the  secretary  upon  the  fact  that  before  a  dollar 
of  this  proposed  fund  shall  have  been  raised  there  is  already 
provided  a  sustaining  fund  of  nearly  six  million  dollars, 
which  has  been  utilized  for  this  purpose.  The  Methodist 
Book  Concern  to-day  has  assets  amounting  to  very  nearly  this 
sum,  from  the  earnings  of  which  during  this  very  year  we 
are  paying  over  to  Annual  Conferences  the  magnificent  sum 
of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.     By  a  law  that  is  pretty 


THE  BOOK  CONCEEISr  411 

definitely  ascertained  in  the  experience  of  the  financial  world, 
the  most  conservative  securities  can  be  reckoned  upon  to  return 
an  interest  revenue  of  only  about  four  per  cent.  This  seems 
to  be  a  pretty  well  demonstrated  fact  under  normal  financial 
conditions ;  but  this  year  we  are  actually  paying  to  the  Annual 
Conferences  from  our  earnings  a  cash  dividend  of  five  per 
cent  on  our  capital  of  six  million  dollars,  really  a  little  more 
than  five  per  cent  on  our  actual  capital. 

In  the  history  of  the  Book  Concern  there  have  been  long 
periods  when,  because  of  obligations  incurred  in  other  direc- 
tions, no  dividends  from  earnings  have  been  paid  to  the  An- 
nual Conferences.  I  need  not  here  enter  into  a  statement 
as  to  the  reasons  for  the  large  diversions  which  during  some 
considerable  periods  have  been  made  from  the  earnings  of 
the  Book  Concern  to  causes  other  than  to  benefactions  for 
the  worn-out  preachers.  I  call  your  attention,  however,  to 
what  has  been  done  in  recent  years  in  this  connection.  Pre- 
vious to  the  year  1883  there  were  paid  altogether  as  dividends 
to  the  Annual  Conferences,  $344,066.  Since  1883,  including 
the  current  year  1914,  we  have  paid  $3,254,000,  thus  making 
a  total  of  dividends  from  the  earnings  of  the  Book  Concern 
of  $3,598,066.  Undoubtedly  the  total  dividends  of  the  pres- 
ent quadrennium  will  exceed  a  million  dollars.  I  challenge 
you  with  the  statement  that  this  magnificent  result  is  without 
parallel  in  the  history  of  any  other  denomination  in  Christen- 
dom. It  is  something  for  which  the  Church  as  a  whole  may 
cherish  a  sense  of  profound  gratitude.  With  continued 
loyalty  to  its  increasing  publishing  interests,  I  see  no  reason 
why  the  Book  Concern  should  not  prove  a  source  of  unceas- 
ing and  increasing  benefactions  to  our  Eetired  Ministers. 

Third.  I  would  like  to  make  a  suggestion  that  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants  should  enter  into  arrangements  with 
the  Book  Concern  as  to  life  annuities,  in  which  work  we 
have  an  advantage  over  any  other  existing  organizations. 
I  can  see  no  reason  why  the  income  from  such  a  fund  should 
not  be  placed  for  administration  with  the  Board  of  Confer- 
ence Claimants ;  but  I  am  very  clearly  of  the  conviction  that  a 
great  annuity  fund  could  be  secured  by  compliance  with  the 
suggestion.  I  congratulate  the  Church  upon  the  prospects 
of  enlarging  success  in  this  honorable  enterprise. 

150  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York.  George  P.  Mains. 


412  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

STORY  OF  THE  SADDLEBAGS 
The  Rev.  C.  M.  Adams 

"The  saddlebags  were  tied  on  behind  the  saddle  when  full, 
otherwise  thrown  over  the  seat  of  saddle.  They  were  often 
used  as  a  pillow  at  night  in  the  open,  with  a  camp  fire  at  the 
feet,  at  which  coffee  had  been  boiled  and  bacon  fried. 

"The  outfit  consisted  of  horse,  saddle,  saddlebags,  quirt, 
lariat  and  frying-pan,  food,  Bible  and  hymn  book.  Preach- 
ing places  were  school  houses  or  the  Court  House.  School 
houses  were  of  logs  with  openings,  but  without  windows  and 


doors,  with  dirt  floors,  fire  places  and  slabs  for  benches.  The 
parsonage  had  been  sold  for  fifty  dollars  as  I  had  no  bird  for 
the  nest.  It  was  loaded  on  to  a  lumber  wagon,  without  being 
torn  down,  and  drawn  ten  miles  to  a  mining  camp.  My 
salary  was  $150  a  year.  Board  was  $3  per  week,  or  $156  a 
year.    The  hospitality  of  the  people  knew  no  bounds.^' 


METHODISM'S  OLDEST 
INSTITUTION 

THE  CHARTERED 
FUND 

THE  REV.  ELWIN  HITCHCOCK,  D.D. 

Secretary  Preachers'  Aid  Society 
New  Hampshire  Conference 


There  is  no  fellowship  that  surpasses  that  of  Methodist 
preachers.  It  is  not  merely  poetry  or  sentiment  that  we  sing 
at  Annual  Conference : 

"We  share  our  mutual  woes, 
Our  mutual  burdens  bear. 
And  often  for  each  other  flows 
The  sympathizing  tear." 

It  is  "what  we  have  felt  and  known."  This  was  true  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  ago  and  it  is  true  to-day.  The  spirit 
of  other  denominations  toward  Methodism  at  that  time  was 
not  what  it  is  to-day.  Methodists  were  looked  at  askance  as 
those  that  were  turning  the  theological  world  "upside  down." 
Because  of  this  and  other  conditions  many  of  the  preachers 
were  frequently  sent  to  fields  that  tried  soril  and  body,  to 
meet  opposition  and  not  infrequently  persecution.  Their 
salaries  were  uncertain  and  meager,  so  that  a  distressed  trav- 
eling preacher  was  not  an  unknown  quantity,  and  the  super- 
annuate or  worn-out  preacher  was  not  cared  for  as  he  had  a 
right  to  expect;  for  he  had  given  his  life  to  the  Church 
and  was  not  the  Church  under  moral  obligations  to  care  for 
him  in  his  old  age? 

At  an  early  date  it  became  apparent,  not  only  to  the  preacli-^ 
ers  but  also  to  the  Church,  that  relief  must  be  found  for  these 
men  in  their  old  age;  and  with  this  in  view  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1796  established  the  Chartered  Fund,  and  the  Pre- 
siding Elders  and  pastors  were  appointed  agents  to  solicit  and 
receive  subscriptions  for  the  same,  the  money  to  be  invested 
by  Trustees  chosen  by  the  General  Conference.  It  was 
ordered  that  the  income  be  divided  into  as  many  equal  parts 
as  there  were  Annual  Conferences  in  the  United  States,  and 

413 


414  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

applied  for  the  benefit  of  the  distressed  effective  preachers 
and  Retired  Ministers  and  their  families. 

The  Chartered  Fund  has  not  been  a  failure,  although  it  has 
not  accomplished  all  that  was  hoped  for.  If  it  has  not 
brought  permanent  relief  for  those  for  whom  it  was  estab- 
lished, it  has  brought  temporary  help  and  joy  into  many  a 
preacher's  home.  The  annual  dividend  from  the  Chartered 
Fund  at  present  amounts  to  thirty  dollars  for  each  Annual 
Conference. 

Because  the  Chartered  Fund  was  not  equal  to  the  emer- 
gencies, Preachers'  Aid  Societies,  Relief  Associations,  and 
kindred  organizations  were  started,  which  have  frequently 
failed  to  do  all  that  was  expected,  because  the  Presiding  Elders 
and  preachers,  who  were  depended  upon  to  solicit  the  funds 
already  had  multiplying  cares  which  taxed  their  time  and 
bodies.  Such  organizations  lacked  the  essential  requisite  for 
efficiency,  namely,  an  executive  head  charged  with  the  duty 
of  making  the  movement  go. 

The  Methodist  Church  has  at  last  struck  the  trail  that  will 
lead  us  to  the  goal  of  a  sufficient  support  for  all  Conference 
Claimants.  With  our  Campaign  cry  of  five  million  dollars 
for  permanent  funds,  and  with  Bishops,  District  Superin- 
tendents, Preachers,  Corresponding  Secretary  and  Conference 
representatives  all  joining  in  the  shout  and  giving  this  cause 
the  right  of  way  for  1915,  the  time  is  near  when  Veteran 
Preachers  and  their  wives  will  be  assured  a  comfortable  sup- 
port, which  neither  they  nor  the  Church  will  consider  to  be 
a  charity,  but  an  honorable  claim  to  be  honorably  met. 

ElwusT  Hitchcock. 

Bradford,  Mass. 


ANNUAL  CONFER- 
ENCE   ENDOWMENTS 

THE  REV.  S.  J.  GREENFIELD,  D.D. 

Field    Secretary  of    Preachers'  Permanent  Fund 
Commission,  Northern  New  York  Conference 


The  denomination  to  which  we  belonof  possesses  the  unique 
distinction  of  being  the  only  branch  of  Protestantism,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
which  has  had  local  endowment  funds  of  any  considerable  size 
for  the  benefit  of  Retired  Ministers,  widows  and  orphans. 

Endowment  funds  are  generally  denominational  rather 
than  local ;  as  for  instance,  those  in  the  Presbyterian,  Baptist, 
Congregational  and  Protestant  Episcopal  Churches;  also 
those  of  Methodism  in  Canada,  England  and  Australia.  In 
these  bodies  endowment  funds  are  secured  and  managed  by 
general  boards  instead  of  by  local  organizations.  Many  of 
our  Annual  Conference  organizations  have  existed  for  years, 
but  it  was  not  until  1908  that  the  General  Board  of  Confer- 
ence Claimants  was  organized.  Up  to  that  time  the  general 
endowment  funds  for  the  benefit  of  Conference  Claimants 
were  held  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and  by  the  Chartered  Fund.  Had  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  been  brought  into  existence  decades  ago  a  general 
fund  might  have  been  established  sufficient  by  this  time  to 
provide  an  adequate  support  for  all  Conference  Claimants. 

These  two  methods,  that  of  a  general  board  and  that  of 
local  boards,  are  widely  different  and  suggest  the  question  as 
to  which  is  the  better  plan;  and  much  might  be  said  in 
favor  of  each.  A  central  fund  held  in  trust  and  administered 
by  a  general  board  would  be  in  agreement  with  our  polity,  for 
our  other  denominational  interests  are  in  the  hands  of  general 
boards  and  have  been  for  many  years.  A  general  board  would 
secure  centralization  of  work  and  responsibility;  it  would 
insure  a  more  equitable  distribution  of  the  funds  \o  those  who 
are  to  be  benefited  by  them ;  it  would  tend  to  remove  restive- 
ness  on  the  part  of  the  ministry,  and  conduce  to  a  greater  con- 

415 


416  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

tentment  among  the  members  of  the  smaller  and  weaker 
Annual  Conferences;  it  might  also  be  less  expensive  to  ad- 
minister one  general  fund  than  one  hundred  or  more  local 
funds;  and  it  is  possible,  also,  that  as  funds  would  be  invested 
on  a  larger  scale,  they  could  be  invested  to  greater  advan- 
tage. These  considerations,  I  think,  may  all  be  urged  in  sup- 
port of  one  endowment  fund  for  the  whole  Church.  But 
there  are  other  considerations  which  may  be  urged  in  favor 
of  local  endowments.  There  is,  for  instance,  the  fact  that  a 
local  fund  appeals  more  strongly  to  the  people  within  a  given 
Conference.  Such  a  fund  is  for  the  direct  benefit  of  min- 
isters and  widows  with  whose  names  and  work  and  faces  the 
people  of  the  Annual  Conference  are  familiar.  There  are 
also  the  ties  of  pastoral  relationships  which  bind  the  member- 
ship to  their  own  ministers,  and  the  appeal  in  behalf  of  the 
Retired  Ministers  and  those  dependent  upon  them  is  an  appeal 
in  behalf  of  people  who  are  known;  and,  of  course,  such  an 
appeal  is  likely  to  be  more  effective  than  a  more  general  one. 

Then  a  local  fund  makes  a  stronger  appeal  to  the  min- 
isters since  it  is  their  own  fund  raised  and  administered  for 
and  by  themselves.  The  average  minister,  as  well  as  the 
average  church  member,  will  be  likely  to  take  more  pride 
in  and  give  more  liberally  to  such  a  fund  than  to  one  which 
is  to  be  administered  by  a  general  board ;  and  as  the  chief  con- 
sideration is  the  securing  of  the  funds  this  fact  is  very  im- 
portant. At  the  present  time,  too,  such  Conference  funds  are 
administered  economically;  for  except  the  special  representa- 
tive the  officers  do  not  receive  compensation  for  their  labor. 

That  Annual  Conference  Endowment  Funds  for  the  benefit 
of  Conference  Claimants  appeal  strongly  to  our  people  is 
evidenced  from  the  number  and  the  size  of  them  now  in  exist- 
ence. Eighty-two  Annual  Conferences  have  endowment 
funds,  the  largest  of  which  is  about  $350,000  and  the  smallest 
is  about  $500.  Altogether  the  funds  now  owned  and  managed 
by  the  Annual  Conferences  amount  to  about  $4,000,000;  an 
amount  which  is  far  from  being  adequate  to  meet  the  just 
dues  of  7,000  Conference  Claimants,  half  of  whom  are  Retired 
Ministers.  Reducing  the  claims  of  the  widows  (one  half  of 
their  husbands'  claims)  and  those  of  the  dependent  orphans 
(one  fifth  of  their  fathers'  claims)  to  the  basis  of  the  full 
annuity  claim  of  a  Retired  Minister,  we  find  that  the  total 


CONFERENCE  ENDOWMENTS  417 

problem  is  the  same  as  if  there  were  5,000  Veteran  Preachers 
for  whom  the  Disciplinary  rate  of  one  seventieth  of  the  aver- 
age salary  of  the  effective  ministers  of  the  Conference  for  each 
year  of  service  was  to  be  provided.  The  total  $4,000,000 
divided  by  5,000  would  give  only  an  endowment  of  $800 
for  each,  the  annual  interest  on  which  would  amount  to  only 
$40.  The  total  legal  claims  are  $1,600,000  annually  which 
represents  five  per  cent  on  $32,000,000.  The  annual  divi- 
dends of  The  Book  Concern,  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants and  the  Chartered  Fund  amount  to  $330,000,  equal  to 
five  per  cent  on  $6,600,000.  The  direct  contributions  from 
the  pastoral  charges  exceed  $550,000,  or  five  per  cent  on 
$11,000,000,  so  that  when  Methodism  shall  have  added  $10,- 
400,000,  to  its  present  invested  funds  all  claims  will  be  met. 

Many  Annual  Conferences  have  undertaken  to  raise  large 
amounts  for  their  endowments,  those  amounts  in  the  fall 
Conferences  alone  reaching  beyond  five  millions  of  dollars; 
but  the  ultimate  goal  is  far  beyond  the  total  of  the  figures 
already  set,  and  that  distant  goal  must  be  reached,  before 
the  Retired  Minister  or  widow  can  be  certain  of  a  comfort- 
able support  in  retirement. 

The  Northern  New  York  Conference  has  100  Conference 
Claimants.  To  give  them  an  average  of  $400  a  year  we  need 
$40,000.  From  the  connectional  dividends,  annual  collec- 
tions, and  our  present  endowments,  they  get  $13,000  leaving 
a  deficit  of  $27,000  to  be  provided  out  of  future  endowments. 
So  that  we  need  to  increase  our  present  endowment  to  at 
least  $500,000. 

Various  methods  are  used  in  securing  funds  for  Annual 
Conference  Endowments;  cash  gifts,  pledges  payable  in 
annual  installments,  the  issuance  of  life  annuity  bonds,  the 
establishment  of  memorial  funds,  bequests  of  money  or 
devises  of  real  estate,  apportionments  made  to  the  pastoral 
charges,  assessments  on  the  ministers,  etc.  Many  Confer- 
ences have  committees,  commissions  or  incorporated  organi- 
zations, some  composed  of  ministers  alone  and  others  of 
ministers  and  laymen.  The  latter  is  preferable  because  it 
secures  the  active  support  of  strong  church  members,  which 
is  an  asset  of  great  value  in  such  work,  and  places  also  at  the 
service  of  the  commission  the  business  foresight  and  experience 
and  judgment  of   successful  business  men,  and  gives  con- 


418  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

fidence  to  the  people  in  the  undertaking  itself  and  also 
in  the  proper  care  and  investment  of  the  funds  after  they 
have  been  secured.  Many  Annual  Conferences  have  set  apart 
a  member  of  the  Conference  who  devotes  all  his  time  to  this 
work  and  becomes  the  official  representative  of  his  Conference, 
presenting  the  cause  in  the  churches  and  in  personal  solicita- 
tion; devising  means  for  carrying  on  the  work,  keeping  up 
the  correspondence,  looking  after  the  collection  of  pledges  and 
cultivating  the  interest  of  the  people  generally;  acting  as  an 
official  of  the  Conference  by  the  appointment  of  the  presiding 
bishop.  That  the  labor  of  such  a  representative  is  necessary 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  only  those  Conferences  which  have 
such  a  representative  in  the  field  succeed  to  any  marked  de- 
gree. During  the  three  years  immediately  preceding  the 
appointment  of  a  field  representative  in  the  Northern  New 
York  Conference,  two  hundred  charges  and  as  many  pastors 
gave  to  the  endow^ment  fund  an  average  of  $103  per  year. 
But  during  the  next  three  years  the  same  churches  and  pastors 
paid  to  the  endowment  fund  over  $30,000,  an  average  of 
$10,000  a  year,  with  fully  as  much  more  provided  for  in 
pledges  and  bequests.  But  the  cash  result  of  such  labor  is 
not  all.  In  addressing  a  congregation  in  behalf  of  the  cause, 
and  in  showing  its  merits  he  can  speak  out  more  candidly  and 
frankly  than  the  pastors  feel  at  liberty  to  do.  Incidentally 
also,  his  appeals  make  clear  the  need  of  a  more  adequate 
support  for  the  ministers  in  the  effective  ranks  and  lead  the 
people  to  appreciate  the  value  of  the  pastorate. 

The  basis  of  distribution  for  the  incomes  from  the  endow- 
ment funds  is  not  the  same  in  each  Conference.  The  differ- 
ences are  numerous,  and  indicate  a  great  variety  of  opinions 
as  to  which  is  the  more  equitable.  There  are,  however,  two 
methods,  which  are  more  or  less  general.  One  method  pro- 
vides for  distribution  on  a  basis  of  necessity ;  the  other  method 
is  based  on  years  of  service.  Some  Conferences  have  two  funds, 
distributed  separately. 

The  Methodist  Church  in  Canada  has  two  such  funds. 
With  us,  however,  the  Annual  Conference  can  distribute 
money  to  meet  necessities,  if  it  so  desires.  The  charity 
element  in  the  necessitous  distribution  is  highly  objection- 
able to  self-respecting  ministers.  For  a  person  accustomed 
to  associate,  as  a  minister  and  wife,  with  people  who  never 


CONFEKENCE  ENDOWMENTS  419 

depend  upon  charity  for  their  support^  this  difficulty  is  pro- 
hibitive. The  sympathies  of  our  people  should  be  aroused 
but  not  at  the  expense  of  their  sense  of  equity  and  gratitude. 

The  distribution  based  on  years  of  service  is  free  from  the 
element  of  "charity'^  and  makes  no  infringement  on  self- 
respect.  Under  this  method  Retired  ^linisters  or  widows  do 
not  have  to  disclose  their  financial  condition  or  to  prove  their 
poverty.  Pension  systems  of  other  institutions  do  not  make 
poverty  a  condition  of  receiving  benefit.  The  government 
does  not  pension  a  veteran  soldier  or  a  civil  servant  because  of 
his  penury.  The  Carnegie  Fund  does  not  pension  professors 
on  proof  of  poverty.  The  Pennsylvania  or  any  other  great 
railroad  or  corporation  does  not  pension  employees  because 
they  are  living  under  the  shadow  of  the  poorhouse;  and  it  is 
not  going  too  far  to  say  that  ministers  should  not  be  compelled 
to  prove  poverty  to  a  grateful  Church.  True,  much  money  is 
contributed  by  the  churches  for  benevolent  purposes,  but  the 
support  of  the  ministry  must  never  be  viewed  in  the  light  of 
a  benevolence.  One  has  said,  "The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his 
hire";  and  another  has  written,  "The  Lord  hath  ordained 
that  they  that  preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel"; 
and  later,  with  a  touch  of  irony,  wrote,  "If  we  have  sown  unto 
you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  thing  if  ive  shall  reap  your 
carnal  things  f  The  support  of  the  ministry  can  no  more  be 
regarded  as  a  benevolence  than  can  the  support  of  the  physi- 
cian, who  receives  fees,  or  the  mechanic  who  is  paid  wages. 
To  regard  it  as  a  benevolence  is  to  weaken  the  Church  before 
the  world,  to  turn  the  effective  minister  into  a  mendicant  and 
the  Retired  Minister  into  a  pauper. 

In  Canadian  Methodism  the  support  of  the  Retired  Min- 
istry is  based  wholly  upon  years  of  service;  though  a  small 
fund  is  reserved  to  meet  special  needs.  At  its  recent  General 
Conference  the  pension  rate  was  raised  from  ten  to  twelve 
dollars  for  each  year  of  service,  the  amount  to  be  paid  in  semi- 
annual installments.  An  appeal  on  this  basis  is  an  appeal  to 
our  people's  sense  of  equity,  justice  and  gratitude,  rather  than 
to  their  sympathy;  and  they  will  respond  through  gratitude 
for  the  holy  services  of  men  and  women,  the  character  of 
whose  work  entitles  them  to  a  life-time  of  support  in  return 
for  a  life-time  of  service. 

Utica,  N.  Y.  S.  J.  Greenfield, 


ANNUAL  CONFERENCE  REPRESENTATIVES 
J.  C.  North  Robert  Stephens  S.  A.  Morse 

J.  B.  Green  S.  J.  Greenfield  J.  A.  Sargent 

C.  A.  Kelley  Stedman  Applegate  J.  W.  Robinson 

G.  W.  Kepler  C.  M.  Shepherd  U.  G.  Humphrey 


CLAIMANTS'  GREATEST  ASSET 

CONTRIBUTIONS 
FROM  CHURCHES- 
APPORTIONMENTS 

THE  REV.  E.  C.  CLEMANS,  D.D. 

F'eld  Representative  Board  of  Conference  Claimants 


One  of  the  early  problems  that  confronted  American  Meth- 
odism was  the  care  of  "worn-out"  preachers  and  those  depend- 
ent upon  them.  The  people  were  poor,  collections  were  small 
and  smaller  still  were  the  salaries  of  the  preachers.  The 
Book  Concern  was  organized;  also  the  Chartered  Fund,  the 
first  permanent  investment  fund  for  Conference  Claimants. 
But  the  main  source  of  revenue  was  the  "Fifth  Collection."' 
At  the  first  quarterly  meeting  a  collection  was  taken  for  the 
preacher,  the  Presiding  Elder  and  the  Bishops ;  at  the  second 
quarterly  meeting  a  second  collection  was  taken;  at  the  third 
quarterly  meeting  a  third  collection ;  and  at  the  fourth  quar- 
terly meeting  a  fourth  collection.  After  these  four  collections 
had  secured  about  all  the  money  in  sight,  a  fifth  collection 
was  taken  for  the  "worn-out  preachers  and  widows." 

The  number  of  claimants  being  large  and  the  funds  small, 
the  Conference  stewards  were  compelled  to  reduce  each  claim- 
ant to  a  necessitous  basis,  the  motion  generally  being,  "I 
move  that  Brother  Brown  be  granted  a  superannuated  relation 
and  be  referred  to  the  stewards  for  favorable  consideration"; 
and  all  superannuates  were  so  referred.  The  stewards  were 
compelled  to  scrutinize  carefully  the  material  condition  of 
each  claimant,  for  if  one  claimant  had  more  means  than 
another,  he  would  need  and  receive  less.  To  be  reduced  to 
such  a  basis  was  so  humiliating,  that  preachers  in  the  active 
ranks  dreaded  the  day  of  superannuation  and  prayed  to  be 
taken  away  before  they  were  called  to  humiliating  penury. 

Just  when  the  Conferences  commenced  to  make  an  appor- 
tionment to  the  pastoral  charges  for  the  support  of  super- 
annuated preachers  is  uncertain,  but  it  was  at  about  the  time 

421 


422  THE  RETIEED  MIXISTER 

when  the  benevolent  causes  were  apportioned  to  the  Church. 
The  Annual  Conference  made  the  apportionment  for  super- 
annuates ;  the  Presiding  Elders  apportioned  it  to  the  pastoral 
charges  and  the  pastors  were  supposed  to  raise  the  amount 
apportioned.  There  was  no  sense  of  responsibility,  no  pro- 
rating, no  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  the  stewards,  and  the 
pastors  took  the  collection  as  they  minded.  If  superannuation 
was  near,  they  felt  the  necessity  of  raising  the  full  apportion- 
ment. If  other  causes  were  pressing,  the  claim  of  the  super- 
annuate suffered.  So  that  during  all  these  years  hardly  sixty 
per  cent  of  the  amount  apportioned  was  raised;  the  greatest 
amount,  about  $300,000,  being  raised  in  1908. 

The  General  Conference  of  1908  made  a  great  advance 
in  the  legislation  in  regard  to  the  support  of  Conference 
Claimants.  At  that  time  the  support  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants became  one  of  the  four  items  of  ministerial  support,  and 
the  pastoral  charges  were  required  to  pro  rate  the  claims  of 
the  Pastor,  District  Superintendent,  Bishop  and  Conference 
Claimants.  Previously  the  cause  of  the  claimants  had  been 
considered  a  benevolence  and  the  people  were  appealed  to  to 
give  money  to  it  out  of  charity;  but  the  new  legislation,  by 
making  their  claim  a  part  of  ministerial  support,  took  it  out 
of  the  benevolences  and  placed  it  on  the  salary  basis,  so  that 
now  the  charges  must  raise  this  money  in  the  salary  budget. 

Then  the  law  of  prorating  was  established.  In  accordance 
with  this  law  the  Pastor,  the  District  Superintendent  or  the 
Bishop  cannot  be  paid  in  full,  unless  the  Conference  Claim- 
ants are  paid  in  full;  all  ministers  are  to  receive  the  same 
proportion  of  the  total  amount  paid  as  their  several  claims 
bear  to  the  total  budget  for  ministerial  support.  The  law  of 
prorating  means  simply  that  neither  of  the  four  shall  receive 
more  than  his  proportionate  share  of  the  total  support. 

The  basis  for  the  apportionment  is  usually  the  cash  salary 
paid  to  the  pastors,  the  percentage  in  many  Conferences  being 
seven  per  cent.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Conference  stewards  to 
recommend  the  apportionment  (^  326  of  the  Discipline), 
which,  however,  must  be  approved  by  the  Conference  before 
it  becomes  effective.  The  stewards  by  referring  to  the  Con- 
ference Minutes  determine  what  is  the  average  salary  of  the 
preachers  in  the  effective  ranks.  This  average  salary  is 
divided  by  two,  because  every  Retired  Preacher  after  thirty- 


CHUECH  CONTEIBUTIONS  423 

five  years  of  service  in  the  "effective  relation"  is  entitled  to  an 
amount  equal  to  one  half  of  the  average  salary  of  the  effective 
members  of  the  Conference.  This  half  salary  divided  by 
thirty-five  gives  the  legal  annuity  rate  for  one  year's  service. 
The  stewards  then  find  the  total  number  of  the  annuity  years 
of  all  the  Eetired  Preachers,  widows  and  dependent  orphans, 
which,  multiplied  by  the  legal  annuity  rate,  gives  the  amount 
required  for  annuities.  To  this  must  be  added  what  will  be 
necessary  for  "necessitous  cases,"  that  is,  those  claimants 
whose  condition  is  such  as  to  require  more  than  their  annuity. 

The  sum  of  the  amount  required  for  annuities,  or  pensions, 
and  for  necessitous  cases  makes  the  total  claims  for  the  Con- 
ference Claimants,  or  the  total  liability  of  the  Annual  Con- 
ference. In  order  to  determine  what  amount  should  be  pro- 
vided by  the  pastoral  charges,  the  total  income  derived  from 
other  sources — connectional  dividends,  interest  of  Conference 
investments,  etc. — is  subtracted  from  the  total  claims,  and 
the  remainder,  plus  5%,  must  be  apportioned  the  several 
pastoral  charges  of  the  Conference,  to  be  raised  as  a  part 
of  the  budget  for  ministerial  support.  In  1913  the  total 
amount  raised  through  such  apportionment  was  about  $500,- 
000,  being  only  one  third  of  the  toal  amount  needed. 

The  intensive  1915  CAMPAIGN"  will  greatly  increase 
the  investment  income;  also  there  will  be  a  steady  increase 
in  the  dividends  of  The  Book  Concern  and  the  Board  of  Con- 
ference Claimants;  but  in  order  to  meet  the  full  liability  of 
the  entire  Church,  $1,600,000,  the  total  amount  to  be  raised 
by  apportionments  to  the  pastoral  charges  should  be  $700,000, 
an  increase  of  $"200,000 ;  and  for  many  years  to  come  the 
amounts  received  annually  from  the  churches  will  continue 
to  be  the  "greatest  asset  of  Conference  Claimants." 

x\nd  this  ought  to  ])e  so.  There  never  should  be  a  time  in 
the  history  of  Methodism  when  ^lethodists  should  not  be  rais- 
ing money  for  the  support  of  claimants.  We  love  those  whom 
we  help.  AVe  forget  those  for  whom  we  are  not  concerned, 
and  the  Church  cannot  afford  to  forget  its  honored  Veterans. 
Their  claim  should  remain  one  of  the  items  of  ministerial 
support;  and  for  its  own  good,  as  well  as  for  their  care,  the 
Church  should  always  have  an  apportionment  for  the  support 
of  its  Eetired  Preachers  and  other  Conference  Claimants.  . 

Minneapolis^   Minn,  Ezra   C.   Clemaxs. 


ANNUAL  CONFERENCE  REPRESENTATIVES 
G.  F.  Hopkins  J.  W.  Pruen  F.  M.  Van  Treese 

J.  W.  BissELL  J.  M.  Leonard  John  Mayer 

A.  G.  ScHAFER  John  Collins  W.  H.  Pope 

T.  E.  Green  J.  W.  Cain  J.  C.  Kendrick 


METHODISM'S  YOUNGEST 
INSTITUTION 

THE  BOARD  OF 

CONFERENCE 

CLAIMANTS 

THE  REV.  JAMES  HAMILTON,  D.D. 

Conference  Claimants  Comm'ssion  and  Board 


With  this  youngest  institution  of  Methodism  I  liave  been 
related  since  its  birth,  and  also  closely  identified  with  its 
strenuous  career.  Miss  Willard  declared  that  the  best  time  to 
begin  training  a  child  was  a  hundred  years  before  it  was  born. 
This  child  of  the  Church  has  been  in  prenatal  training  about 
that  long,  but  more  particularly  since  18 T8,  when  the  Eev. 
J.  S.  Smart,  a  big-hearted,  robust  character,  led  in  the  fight 
to  have  the  profits  of  the  Book  Concern  go  to  the  support  of 
Conference  Claimants,  as  originally  designed,  instead  of  to 
paying  Bishops'  salaries.  General  Conference  expenses 
and  other  items.  Later  Dr.  J.  Benson  Hamilton  took  a 
prominent  part  in  the  training. 

At  the  Cleveland  General  Conference,  18 96,  the  first  for- 
ward step  was  taken  to  put  the  claim  of  the  superannuates 
upon  a  self-respecting  basis;  that  is,  on  years  of  service 
instead  of  penury.  Three  things  were  accomplished  by  the 
advanced  legislation:  (1)  A  declaration  was  made  defining 
Conference  Claimants;  (2)  The  annual  observance  of  Con- 
ference Claimants'  Day  was  ordered,  with  the  presentation 
of  the  claim  and  a  collection;  (3)  An  annuity  distribution  was 
provided.  It  is  a  matter  of  personal  gratification  to  be  able  to 
say  that  this  advance  was  copied  almost  verbatim  from  what 
was  then  known  as  the  Micliigan  Conference  Plan,  which  was 
the  Canadian  Plan  modified  to  meet  American  exigencies. 
Had  the  whole  plan  gone  into  the  Discipline  at  that  time, 
we  would  have  had,  substantially,  the  plan  of  to-day. 

The  Chicago  General  Conference,  1900,  left  the  chapter  on 
Conference  Claimants  without  change,  but  the  discussion  and 
agitation  of  the  subject  went  forward  with  increasing  mo- 
mentum, so  that  at  the  Los  Angeles  General  Conference, 
1904,  the  entire  Church  was  ready  for  pronounced  action.  Dr. 

425 


m-y  THE  KETIKED  MINISTER 

Buckley  voiced  this  sentiment  in  a  motion  made  on  the  first 
day  of  the  session  asking  for  the  appointment  of  a  special 
committee  to  take  up  the  question  and  report  at  an  early 
date.  The  Committee  was  appointed,  but  before  it  could  con- 
vene, the  action  was  reconsidered  and  all  papers  referring  to 
the  subject  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Temporal 
Economy.  A  further  delay  in  appointing  the  sub-com- 
mittee to  work  out  the  plan  made  it  impossible  to  report  until 
very  late  in  the  session,  when  the  delegates  were  getting 
anxious  to  return  to  their  homes.  There  was  also  a  minority 
report,  and  finally  a  Commission  was  appointed  to  study  the 
question  during  the  quadrennium  and  to  report  later. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  have  been  a  member  of  the  Special 
Committee,  and  of  the  Commission,  and  also  of  the  sub- 
committee which  drafted  the  plan  submitted  at  Los  Angeles. 
While  I  have  had  my  share  of  honors  in  the  Church,  I  never 
felt  more  highly  complimented  than  by  that  assignment. 
Bishop  Cranston,  Dr.  Wilder  and  Mr.  Eobert  T.  Miller  were 
fine  types  of  the  episcopacy,  the  pastorate  and  the  laity, 
who  served  on  the  Commission.  I  will  never  forget  the  devo- 
tion and  faithfulness  of  my  associates  to  the  sacred  work  com- 
mitted to  their  hands.  Soon  Bishop  Joyce,  who  would  have 
been  appointed  Chairman,  was  taken  away,  but  not  until  he 
had  written  a  letter  whose  pathos  and  consecration  inspired 
and  enthused  all  hearts.  Bishop  Walden  was  appointed 
chairman,  and  in  due  time  the  plan  was  published. 

At  the  Baltimore  General  Conference,  1908,  we  had  the 
help  of  Drs.  J.  R.  Day,  C.  J.  Little  and  Frank  Mason  North 
in  putting  the  finishing  touches  to  the  immortal  document. 
It  remained  for  our  Corresponding  Secretary,  then  and  now 
Secretary  of  the  General  Conference,  to  move  an  amendment 
providing  for  the  creation  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants and  the  election  of  a  Corresponding  Secretary  to  work 
the  plan.  He  had  the  idea  that  although  an  axe  may  be  a 
good  tool,  yet  it  is  not  worth  much  without  a  man  to  swing 
it.  I  had  a  like  proposition  "up  my  sleeve"  intending  to  pre- 
sent it  when  the  plan  had  carried.  There  was  opposition  to 
the  multiplication  of  benevolent  boards,  and  I  was  afraid  to 
have  the  idea  of  a  board  with  a  corresponding  secretary, 
incorporated  in  the  legislation,  lest  the  instrument  upon 
which  we  had  spent  so  much  time  and  care  should  be  put  in 


BOARD  OF  COXFEEENCE  CLAIMANTS       427 

jeopardy.  In  this  conviction  I  was  sustained  by  the  others. 
But  Dr.  Hingeley  made  it  appear  so  reasonable  and  necessary 
that  the  entire  plan  went  through  with  little  opposition,  and 
the  child  was  born. 

Well  w^as  it  for  the  child  that  there  was  some  one  to  care  for 
it;  for  no  infant  was  ever  left  in  a  worse  plight.  No  provi- 
sion had  been  made  for  clothing  or  sustenance.  My  indigna- 
tion waxes  hot  as  I  recall  the  situation.  Think  of  it!  A 
great  Connectional  Church  Board  was  brought  into  existence 
and  given  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  other  benevolent 
boards,  and  not  a  dollar  provided  with  which  it  could  inaug- 
urate its  work.  The  Hebrew  slaves  were  called  on  to  make 
bricks  without  straw.  But  that  was  not  a  circumstance  com- 
pared with  this.  They  at  least  had  the  mud,  but  our  Board 
had  nothing.  Then  too  some  of  the  older  sisters  did  not  take 
any  too  kindly  to  the  youngster.  Of  course,  they  couldn't 
help  liking  him ;  but  why  should  he  demand  recognition  and 
his  share  of  the  family  income?  It  was  a  little  distressing, 
especially  since  there  was  not  any  too  much  to  go  around. 
But  he  was  there  to  stay  and  to  have  his  rights  recognized. 

And  now  look  for  a  moment  at  the  miracle  of  finance  which 
placed  this  institution  on  its  feet.  It  was  said  of  Alexander 
Hamilton  that  he  "struck  the  rock  of  our  national  re- 
sources and  abundant  streams  of  revenue  gushed  forth."  But 
Hamilton  had  the  authority  to  strike.  Not  so  Marvin  Camp- 
bell, the  treasurer ;  but  he  struck,  and  the  treasury  was  filled. 
Our  big,  elder  brother,  the  Book  Concern,  had  faith  in  our 
integrity  and  future  usefulness  and  granted  us  a  loan  which 
put  us  on  our  feet  until  our  Corresponding  Secretary  could 
state  the  case  to  the  Church. 

Now  hear  the  story  of  a  financial  achievement.  Having 
absolutely  no  assured  income,  save  the  "Conference  percent- 
ages," not  a  cent  of  which  could  be  touched  for  expenses,  the 
Board  has  distributed  to  the  Conferences,  or  has  on  hand  for 
such  distribution,  $175,000;  has  a  Permanent  Fund  amount- 
ing to  $250,000;  has  a  good  office  equipment;  has  paid  all 
bills  when  due  and  has  spent  for  the  common  good,  for  liter- 
ature and  publicity,  $40,000.  If  the  Board  had  done  nothing 
more  than  supply  inspirational  literature,  it  would  have 
a])undantly  justified  its  creation.  At  this  point  we  touch  the 
irreatest  achievement  of  the  Board — the  successful  leadership 


428  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

of  the  entire  Church  in  increasing  its  annual  distribution  by 
$500,000,  and  in  adding  $3,000,000  to  endowment  funds. 
For  me  to  have  contributed  in  any  way  to  this  magnificent 
result  is  abundant  honor. 

The  whole  attitude  of  the  Church  has  been  changed  by  the 
persistent  championship  of  the  Veterans'  cause.  '^Trorat- 
ing,"  for  instance,  instead  of  being  regarded  as  a  matter  of 
easy  convenience,  is  now  recognized  as  an  honest  effort  to  do 
right.  Had  the  Board  from  the  beginning  received  the  gen- 
erous support  that  it  deserved  and  which  it  now  receives,  it 
would  be  able  by  this  time  to  provide  for  all  the  necessitous 
eases;  which  would  have  produced  the  ideal  condition:  The 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants  caring  for  all  "necessitous 
cases,"  leaving  Annual  Conferences  free  to  pay  the  full  an- 
nuity rate.  With  such  a  record,  why  should  not  the  Board 
receive  the  praise  and  hearty  support  of  the  entire  Church? 

No  words  of  praise  can  do  justice  to  the  officers  of  the 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants.  AYe  challenge  any  Board 
to  show  a  better  record.  Dr.  Hingeley  has  shown  himself  to 
the  "manor  born,"  and  master  of  the  most  difficult  situa- 
tions. The  services  of  Judge  Oliver  H.  Horton,  chairman  of 
the  executive  committee,  a  man  of  profound  legal  ability, 
have  been  invaluable.  Dr.  J.  A.  Mulfinger,  the  careful  and 
painstaking  recording  secretary,  has  kept  us  straight  from 
start  to  finish.  Dr.  Clemans,  the  field  representative,  is  a 
regular  Boanerges,  and  stirs  up  enthusiasm  wherever  he  goes. 
Our  Episcopal  chairman.  Bishop  McDowell,  by  his  devotion 
to  the  cause  and  his  enthusiasm  in  the  work  has  demon- 
strated that  he  is  in  the  royal  apostolic  succession  of  the 
saintly  Asbury,  who  carried  about  with  him  a  subscription 
book  for  the  relief  of  his  aged  and  needy  brethren;  and  now 
that  the  whole  Board  of  Bishops  has  pledged  leadership  in 
this  holy  cause  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  is  already  assured. 

Years  ago  a  friend  asked  Dr.  Arnold  of  the  Detroit  Confer- 
ence, who  had  been  driving  Dr.  Thompson's  fast  horse,  how 
far  it  was  to  the  fair  grounds.  "Two  miles,"  said  Dr.  Arnold, 
"but  with  Thompson's  horse  you  are  there  already." 

With  all  the  Bishops  and  District  Superintendents  in 
line,  we  are  at  the  $5,000,000  milestone  already,  and  the 
$10,000,000  milestone  is  not  far  ahead. 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.  James  Hamilton. 


THE  VETERANS  OF 

THE  CROSS 

FELLOWSHIP 

rilE  REV.  VARNUM  A.  COOPER,  D.D. 

President  and  Organizer  of  the  Fellowship 


The  Veterans  of  the  Cross  Fellowship  is  not  a  secret 
society  with  pass-words  and  grips,  but  is  a  fellowship  into 
which  we  enter  and  find  Jesus  is  in  the  midst.  The  Fellow- 
ship represents  almost  seven  thousand — seven  regiments — 
Conference  Claimants  who  are  asking  in  what  way  they  can 
cooperate  in  this  Church-wide  movement  in  their  behalf? 

1.  Some  men  are  born  to  wealth;  some  men  achieve  wealth; 
some  men  have  wealth  thrust  upon  them.  Here  and  there  are 
Veterans  with  wealth,  or  a  competency.  I  need  not  point 
out  the  way  for  them  to  cooperate.  A  few  examples  of  lib- 
erality on  their  part  would  inflame  the  whole  Church!  We 
can  cooperate  by  practicing  what  we  preach;  by  being  our- 
selves generous  givers  to  the  extent  of  our  ability. 

2.  The  1915  CAMPAIGN  is  not  a  revolution  but  an  evolu- 
tion; a  change  in  the  sentiment  of  the  Church  from  the 
thought  of  charity  to  that  of  justice  and  gratitude  in  its  deal- 
ings with  Retired  Ministers  and  other  Claimants.  Whatever 
softens  prejudice,  stimulates  honor  or  creates  sympathy  will 
strengthen  the  claims  of  justice.  We  utter  no  complaints. 
Through  the  long  years  in  which  we  have  received  a  pitiful 
dole  of  charity,  we  might  have  complained,  but  at  this  stage 
of  the  evolution  if  our  just  claim — declared  by  the  Indian- 
apolis Convention  to  be  the  Supreme  Claim — is  not  fully  met, 
we  will  continue  to  endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers  of  the 
Cross;  practicing  self-denial  with  patience  and  strengthen- 
ing the  hand  so  intelligently  employed  in  our  behalf. 

3.  In  every  way  possible  we  will  show  our  gratitude.  It  is 
beyond  value  that  by  a  great  Emancipation  Proclamation  the 
cause  has  been  taken  from  beneath  the  a?gis  of  Charity  and 
placed  in  the  scales  of  Justice ;  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal 

429 


430  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

Church  has  declared  that  our  claim  to  a  comfortable  support 
inheres  in  the  gospel  ministry,  and  that  retirement  is  only 
an  incident  and  in  no  sense  invalidates  our  claim.  We  have 
lived  long  in  the  Church  and  love  it.  Let  us  rejoice  and 
be  glad  that  the  great  record  now  being  transcribed  on  the 
pages  of  Methodist  history  is  a  record  of  justice.  True  it 
ought  to  have  been  written  long  ago ;  but  thank  God !  the 
Recording  Angel  has  his  pen  in  hand  and  the  record  reads, 
"Methodism  has  pledged  itself  to  the  payment  of  the  full 
claims  of  its  Veteran  Ministers,  and  their  Supreme  Claim  has 
been  given  the  supreme  place.^^  Let  us  manifest  gratitude  to 
the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  for  leadership  which  has 
enabled  us  already  to  receive  such  relief  as  never  known 
before,  and  to  the  Bishops  for  pledging  themselves  and  the 
Church  to  the  1915  CAMPAIGN.  Our  vision  may  not  be  as 
clear  as  it  once  was,  but  we  are  not  so  blind  that  we  cannot 
see  that  the  day  is  near  at  hand  when  every  claim  will  be  paid, 
every  necessity  met,  and  from  a  grateful  Church  we  will  re- 
ceive a  comfortable  support. 

4.  There  is  no  Retired  Minister  who  during  his  long 
ministry  has  not  made  and  retained  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  one  or  more  friends  who  are  able  to  help  in  this 
supreme  effort  of  the  Church.  Write  a  letter  to  those  friends. 
In  words  that  you  well  know  how  to  utter,  and  which  God  can 
set  on  fire  by  His  Spirit,  place  the  cause  on  their  hearts. 
Think  of  it !  three  thousand  or  more  such  letters !  What 
a  result  would  such  a  written  appeal  or  a  personal  visit  bring ! 

5.  Veterans  of  the  Cross  are  past  masters  in  the  art  of 
prayer.  We  are  familiar  with  strong  crying  and  tears  at  the 
throne  of  grace.  We  are  practiced  in  wielding  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit  and  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  the  power  that  "moves 
the  hand  that  moves  the  world."  Comrades  of  the  Cross! 
If  we  could  unite  the  prayers  of  thirty-five  hundred  seasoned 
Veterans  and  of  as  many  widows  of  our  brothers  gone  before, 
all  used  to  seeing  miracles  of  grace,  crooked  paths  would  be 
made  straight,  and  mountains  of  difficulty  "cast  into  the 
midst  of  the  sea."  If  we  will  accompany  the  intensive  1915 
CAMPAIGN  for  funds  with  an  intc?isive  campaign  of  prayer, 
no  power  can  prevail  against  us.  I  summon  you  to  this  co- 
operation of  prayer. 

6.  But  after  all,  brethren,  if  every  claim  were  paid,  every 


VETERANS  OF  THE-  CROSS  FELLOWSHIP      431 

necessity  met,  and  each  had  a  "comfortable  support/'  money 
is  not  all  we  need.  When  we  think  of  the  intense  activities 
of  the  itinerant  minister's  life,  the  multiplied  functions  he 
fills,  and  organizations  for  which  he  is  responsible  and  for 
which  he  is  charged  every  year  by  his  Annual  Conference  to 
do  his  utmost,  and  then  realize  that  by  one  touch  of  the  lever, 
o]ie  show  of  hands  his  active  career  is  stopped,  what  a  shock 
it  is !  Suddenly  and  with  a  sickening  dull  thud,  he  drops 
out  of  all  official  responsibility.  From  thirty  to  forty 
years  he  has  been  the  magnetic  center  of  a  Church  and 
congregation,  the  dynamo  of  all  its  responsibilities,  and  the 
leader  of  all  its  enterprises;  but  "in  a  moment,  in  the  twin- 
kling of  an  eye,"  at  what  seems  to  him  to  be  "the  last  trump," 
he  is  separated  from  it  all,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his  itiner- 
ant life  has  his  destiny  in  his  own  hands.  For  there  is  no 
Bishop  to  read  the  Retir&d  Minister's  appointment.  He  is 
through,  not  with  his  ministry  nor  his  call  to  preach,  but  is 
through  with  his  work;  and  must  set  himself  down  alone 
wherever  his  stipend  will  best  serve  him.    He  is  retired. 

Retired  means  "withdrawn  from  public  view,  separated 
from  some  place,  position,  association,  function  or  responsi- 
bility in  which  he  has  been  a  factor."  A  Retired  Methodist 
Minister  has  withdrawn  or  separated,  not  only  from  the  high 
office  of  preacher  in  charge  with  superintendents  over  him 
and  parishioners  under  him,  but  also  from  the  parsonage 
home,  and  must  house  himself  in  an  upstairs  or  downstairs 
tenement,  a  cottage  on  a  side  street,  or  be  absorbed  into  the 
family  of  relatives,  w^here  his  headship  fades  away.  He  is 
separated  from  the  presidency  of  the  official  board,  from 
stewards  with  whom  he  could  confer  daily,  from  the  ladies' 
aid  society  to  which  his  wife  could  confidently  bring  every 
want,  from  leadership  of  prayer  meetings  and  class  meetings, 
from  all  the  multiplied  responsibilities  and  functions  with 
which  his  restless,  intense  life  has  been  full.  He  looks  for- 
ward to  the  Annual  Conference  with  no  feeling  of  official 
responsibility.  He  has  no  reports  to  present,  no  committee 
work  to  do  and  nothing  to  say.  He  takes  an  huml)le  seat  at 
the  grand  review,  irregularly  responds  to  the  roll-call  for  a 
few  years  and  then  sinks  out  of  sight;  though  here  and  there 
among  them  are  stars  of  first  magnitude  whom  no  night  but 
death  can  dim. 


432  THE  EETIKED  MINISTER 

7.  These  Veterans  are  scattered  throughout  the  Conference 
bounds,  and  often  far  beyond  it.  They  are  of  courageous 
spirit;  can  suffer,  and  make  no  sign;  and,  like  their  Master, 
can  bear  the  cross  or  wear  a  crown  of  thorns  and  never  cry 
out.  Grace  may  reconcile  them  to  scant  fare  and  lack  of  the 
necessities  and  the  conveniences  to  which  they  were  accus- 
tomed. But  there  are  wants  of  the  soul;  heart  desires  and 
longing  for  fellowship  which  alone  can  bring  "the  contented- 
ness  of  seventy  years.^'  Money  cannot  buy  it.  There  is  need 
of  that  official  recognition  which  they  have  always  had,  a 
longing  for  some  responsibility  which  they  are  expected  to 
meet  and  of  some  organized  useful  work  which  will  be  suited 
to  their  strength,  and,  most  of  all,  an  absence  of  all  appearance 
of  just  being  tolerated  in  the  work  to  which  they  are  occa- 
sionally assigned.  It  would  be  better  if  such  an  organization 
of  Retired  Ministers  should  not  run  on  a  separate  pulley, 
but  rather  be  geared  into  the  machinery  of  the  great  Church, 
receiving  that  inspirational  help  which,  in  a  connectional 
Church,  can  only  come  from  being  recognized,  fostered  and 
guided  by  the  supreme  authority. 

8.  To  meet  in  some  measure  these  conditions,  to  open  a  door 
of  usefulness  for  themselves,  to  afford  the  means  of  express- 
ing to  the  Church  not  only  their  gratitude  but  also  their  opin- 
ions and  views,  and  to  protect  their  recognized  claims,  believ- 
ing that  the  Veteran  Ministers  had  earned  the  right  to  be 
heard,  the  Veterans  of  the  Cross  Fellowship  was  organized  on 
March  7,  1910,  in  old  Bromfield  Street  Church,  Boston. 
The  Fellowship  served  one  year  on  trial  and,  having  proved 
itself  worthy,  was  cordially  received  into  full  connection  by 
the  New  England  Conference  in  1911.  A  pronouncement  of 
aims  and  purposes  was  made,  the  work  for  the  year  was 
reported,  and  we  were  adopted  into  the  Conference  family  of 
fraternal  societies  and  given  space  in  the  Minutes. 

9.  The  purposes  and  aims  of  the  VETERANS  OF  THE 
CROSS  FELLOWSHIP  are  set  forth  in  a  brief  constitution 
consisting  of  three  articles. 

Article  I  reads:  "This  association  shall  be  called  The  Yet- 
erans  of  the  Cross  Fellowship  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.^'  Considerable  time  and  attention  was  given  to  the 
question  of  a  suital)le  name.  The  Church  at  that  time  called 
us  superannuated  ministers.    A  few,  through  age  and  infirm- 


VETEEAXS  OF  THE  CROSS  FELLOWSHIP      433 

ities,  were  such;  but  the  majority  of  us  were  not.  The  word 
itself  has  been  given  a  superannuated  relation,  and  no  longer 
appears  in  the  Discipline.  Few  of  us  had  ever  liked  that 
name.  The  term  "Ectired  Minister^^  was  proposed;  but  we 
did  not  fancy  that  term  either.  The  old  preacher  had  not 
retired — "gone  to  bed.^^  But  there  was  a  word  which  suited 
us  all  because  it  included  us  all.  We  were  "Vete^-ans."  W^e 
had  served  long  in  the  cause.  That  is  what  makes  a  veteran. 
We  had  long  served  the  cause  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  under  the  banner  of  the  cross.  The  General  Con- 
ference had  designated  our  day  in  the  Church  calendar,  "\^et- 
erans'  Day."    So  we  took  the  name,  "Veterans  of  the  C^ross.'' 

But  what  should  we  call  ourselves;  a  society?  That  was 
meaningless.  The  world  is  as  full  of  societies  as  an  ancient 
garret  of  cobwebs;  and  many  of  them  just  as  flimsy.  Asso- 
ciations ?  That  was  not  much  better.  There  are  all  kinds  of 
associations.  We  desired  a  word  expressive  of  the  true  in- 
wardness of  our  longings  and  aims.  The  days  of  our  activ- 
ities had  passed,  but  not  the  days  of  our  loving  fellowship, 
thank  God.  These  fellowships  had  become  stronger  and 
sweeter  and  dearer.  In  the  ritual  for  recei\ing  members  into 
the  Church  there  is  one  of  the  most  expressive  and  beautiful 
words  to  be  found  in  the  Word  of  God :  "That  vou  may  have 
FELLOWSHIP  with  us,^'  and  truly,  "OUR  FELLOWSHIP 
is  with  the  Father  and  with  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ."  "If  ye 
walk  in  the  light  as  He  is  in  the  light,  WE  HAVE  FELLOW- 
SHIP ONE  WITH  ANOTHER."  So  "VETERANS  OF 
THE  CROSS  FELLOWSHIP"  was  adopted  for  the  Church. 

Article  II  states  the  object  of  the  Fellowship:  (1)  To 
create  a  solidarity  and  special  fellowship;  and  (2)  to  render 
comfort  and  help  to  the  sick,  infirm  or  otherwise  disabled 
Retired  Ministers,  and  the  widows  and  the  orphan  children 
of  deceased  ministers;  to  express  our  relations  to  the  universal 
Church,  the  duties  we  owe  to  it,  and  our  obligations  to  render 
to  it  loyalty  and  gratitude. 

Article  III  defines  the  membership:  Any  Veteran  Meth- 
odist Minister  wlio  shall  sign  the  constitution.  The  member- 
ship was  limited  to  ministers  because  one  object  was  the  culti- 
vation of  closer  fellowship  among  the  members  of  the 
Conference,  and  because  of  the  desire  to  render  service 
and  to  extend  courtesies  to  our  faithful  co-laborers. 


4U  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

10.  The  By-Laws  indicate  the  character  of  the  work  of  the 
Fellowship:  Annual  and  special  meetings;  correspondence 
with  those  who  cannot  meet  with  us;  extending  fraternal 
greetings  to  the  widows  of  the  Conference,  and  to  other  claim- 
ants living  within  the  Conference  bounds ;  visiting  or  writing 
to  sick  or  disabled  ministers;  and  in  case  of  death  to  attend 
the  funeral  and,  when  permitted,  perform  a  brief  ritual  serv- 
ice expressive  of  the  peculiar  fellowship  the  veteran  "brave 
feel  in  circumstances  they  cannot  control." 

Annual  and  special  meetings  may  be  made  both  profitable 
and  delightfully  interesting.  Numbers  cannot  be  large.  An 
interested  pastor  invites  the  Fellowship  and  the  ladies'  aid 
society  provides  the  dinner.  We  enter  into  some  retired 
room,  and  the  door  is  shut  to  all  but  the  Veterans  and  their 
Master.  A  brief  devotional  service  kindles  the  altar  fires 
until  they  glow.  At  the  banquet  some  special  invited  guest 
helps  to  make  the  dinner  a  "feast  of  reason  and  a  flow  of 
soul."  Dinner  over,  we  resume  the  Altar  Fire  service,  taking 
our  guest  in  with  us,  or  a  trip  is  taken  to  some  place  of  inter- 
est ;  and  we  go  home  happy. 

The  1915  CAMPAIGN,  cooperative,  intensive,  extensive, 
for  ten  million  dollars  is  on,  and  with  it  the  placing  of  the 
Veteran  Ministers  before  the  Church  and  the  world  in  their 
exalted  and  true  character;  no  longer  as  "worn-out"  or  super- 
annuated or  even  retired,  but  as  Veterans  of  the  Cross  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  has  adopted  the  VETERANS  OF  THE  CROSS 
FELLOWSHIP  and  in  every  way  has  put  the  Veteran  of 
the  Cross  to  the  front  as  the  living '  remnant  of  the  conquer- 
ing host  which  brought  the  Church  to  its  present  greatness 
of  numbers  and  achievement.  We  need  no  longer  orate  about 
destitution  and  sufferings,  but  only  to  tell  the  truth  about 
their  character,  their  dauntless  courage  and  their  heroic 
deeds,  emblazone'd  on  every  page  of  Methodist  history. 

Hyde  Park,  Mass.  V.  A.  Cooper. 

Note.  The  Rev.  Varnum  A.  Cooper,  D.D.,  writer  of  this 
article,  has  been  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants as  general  Organizer  of  the  Veterans  of  the  Cross  Fellow- 
ship. For  information  or  literature  address.  Dr.  V.  A.  Cooper, 
1  Kensington  Park,  Roxbury,  ^lass. — J.  B.  H. 


PART  III.     THE  CLAIM  SUPEEME 

CHAPTER  IV.     HISTORICAL 

PAGE 

1.  Aged  Pastors  Must  be  Provided  For.  . .  Eckman 436 

2.  Veterans'  Rank  and  R.if;HTS  Restored  . .  Keeney 437 

3.  Early  Methodist  Stewardship Calkins 445 

4.  Cooper  and  Dickins Krantz 451 

5.  John  Street  Church Johnston 455 

6.  St.  George's  Church Hughes 461 

An  Aged  Government  Pensioner 466 

7.  Deferred  Payments Watson 467 

8.  Disciplinary  Provisions  for  Support 

of  Conference  Claimants  in  the 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church 470 

Steel  Pensioners  in  1914 475 


436  THE  KETIHED  MINISTER 

AGED  PASTORS  MUST  BE  PROVIDED  FOR 

Shall  the  old  minister  he  shot? 

This  question  was  asked  and  answered  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
George  P.  Ecknian  at  tlie  Rock  River  Conference. 

The  present  age,  Dr.  Eckman  said,  demands  young  men 
to  fill  the  pulpits.  If  churches  want  that  sort  of  a  thing  let 
them  pay  the  price.  Let  them  support  the  Retired  Ministers 
comfortably  so  that  they  can  have  only  young  men. 

As  far  as  the  old  man  is  concerned,  the  office  of  an  execu- 
tioner would  be  welcomed  kindly  enough,  but  he  has  a  wife 
and  a  family  to  support.  He  cannot  be  treated  as  they  treat 
the  old  in  India,  where  they  are  thrown  upon  the  funeral 
pyre,  or  in  Africa,  where  they  are  thrown  into  the  trenches. 

The  age  is  exacting  on  the  minister  in  the  work  he  is  put 
to  do.  It  is  exhausting.  This  is  expensive  business  and 
the  Church  must  pay  for  it.  An  engine  constantly  driven 
over  the  road  soon  wears  out.  After  becoming  unfit  for  the 
long  routes  it  becomes  a  switch  engine,  and  then  is  consigned 
to  the  scrap  heap.  After  hammering  ministers  out  on  the 
road  of  life,  shall  we  consign  them  to  the  scrap  heap? 

One  of  the  reasons  why  so  many  young  men  hesitate  to 
enter  the  ministry  is  because  of  this  precarious  support  in  old 
age.  Ministers  would  like  to  have  money,  but  they  cannot 
take  time  to  earn  it,  nor  can  they  save  it,  if  they  give  them- 
selves to  their  work  as  they  ought  to  do. 

The  support  of  Retired  Ministers  is  not  a  charity,  it  is 
a  debt.  What  is  paid  in  old  age  is  a  part  of  what  was  with- 
held in  the  early  years  of  a  minister's  life.  The  minister  is 
a  preferred  creditor.    He  is  not  a  mendicant. 

The  pulpit  is  the  freest  place  in  our  day  so  far  as  inde- 
pendence of  character  or  of  utterance  is  concerned.  It  is 
more  free  than  the  newspaper  or  business.  The  preaching 
of  the  gospel  is  the  salvation  of  this  country  from  anarchy. 

Whenever  I  hear  a  Socialist  speaking  I  feel  like  saying, 
"Stop,  thief!"  for  his  doctrines  are  largely  those  of  Christ. 
Without  the  safeguards  of  religion  the  wealthy  men  of  the 
country  could  not  have  made  their  money  or  kept  it. 

Carnegie  might  well  endow  the  ministry  as  he  has  libraries. 
Rockefeller  would  do  well  if  he  considered  this  cause. 


THE  VETERAN'S 

RANK  AND  RIGHTS 

RESTORED 

THE  REV.  FREDERICK  T.  KEENEY,  D.D. 


The  ^[ethodist  Itinerancy  began  as  a  fraternity  of  hearts. 
Common  hardships,  perils  and  sacrifices  bound  the  circuit 
riders  of  the  wilderness  together  as  brothers  in  the  Methodist 
household  of  faith.  There  was  no  high,  no  low;  no  rich,  no 
poor;  no  grade  or  rank  in  all  their  borders.  All  were  one, 
and  all  were  brethren  in  Christ  Jesus.  At  the  close  of  the 
New  York  Conference  in  1T91  Bishop  Asbury  declared: 
"There  were  about  thirty  preachers  present  and  the  most  per- 
fect harmony.  Not  a  frown,  not  a  sign  of  a  sour  temper 
or  an  unkind  word  was  seen  or  heard  among  us.'' 

The  law  of  the  Church  governing  the  support  of  the  early 
ministry  was  that  each  should  share  alike.  From  the  Christ- 
mas Conference  of  1T84  to  1800,  the  uniform  allowance  was 
$64  per  year  for  bishops,  presiding  elders,  pastors,  superan- 
nuated ministers  and  the  widows  of  ministers.  In  1800  this 
annual  allowance  was  increased  to  $80,  and  it  remained  at 
that  figure  until  1816,  when  the  Church  became  rich  enough 
and  sufficiently  generous  to  grant  an  annual  support  of  $100 
to  the  itinerant,  an  additional  allowance  of  $100  for  his  wife, 
and  an  allowance  of  $16  for  the  support  of  each  child  under 
seven  years  of  age,  and  $24  for  each  child  from  seven  to 
fourteen  years.  Through  all  these  years  the  principle  main- 
tained that  every  man  in  the  ranks,  from  bishop  to  superan- 
nuate, as  well  as  the  widows  of  deceased  ministers,  should 
sliare  equally.  When  Bishop  Asbury  was  charged  with  using 
liis  position  to  increase  his  own  income,  he  demanded  an 
investigation,  saying  that  he  had  received  but  $64  and  travel- 
ing expenses,  "the  same  as  any  other  preacher." 

In  1808  a  Brother  Frye,  of  the  Genesee  Conference,  received 
$16.18 J  above  his  allowance  of  $80,  and  the  record  tells  of  his 
sending  the  surplus  to   Conference  to  help  out  the  deficit 

437 


438  THE  KETIHKI)  MINISTER 

of  his  less  fortunate  brethren.  The  Bishops  during  these  years 
experienced  the  same  hardships  as  the  humblest  minister. 
When  Bishop  lledding,  who  was  a  giant  in  stature  and  intel- 
lect, moved  his  family  into  a  certain  Connecticut  town,  where 
they  might  find  a  home  during  his  absence  among  the  Confer- 
ences, the  Town  Fathers  were  at  once  called  together  and 
the  family  was  officially  "warned  out."  The  law  of  Con- 
necticut at  that  time  was  that  if  any  family  came  to  town 
without  a  visible  means  of  support  the  councilmen  might 
order  them  to  leave  the  place.  This  order  did  not  necessitate 
their  removal.  But  if,  after  having  been  "warned  out,"  they 
should  become  dependent  on  the  community  for  the  neces- 
sities of  life,  the  town  was  free  from  any  obligation  for  their 
support.  The  Town  Fathers  therefore  thought  it  expedient, 
in  view  of  Bishop  Hedding's  limited  income,  to  protect  them- 
selves against  the  possibility  of  being  chargeable  with  the 
care  of  his  family  during  his  absence. 

The  average  length  of  service  in  the  effective  relation  of  the 
heroes  of  these  early  days  was  07ily  seven  years.  With  some, 
their  fervent  zeal,  accompanied  with  numerous  hardships  and 
frequent  exposure,  caused  life's  candle  to  be  burned  out  at 
both  ends  and  to  be  soon  extinguished;  while  others  were 
starved  out  of  the  itinerancy,  that  they  might  provide  food  for 
their  families.  In  reply  to  the  question,  "When  are  men  justi- 
fied in  superannuating?"  Mr.  AYesley  answered:  "If  they  are 
not  strong  enough  to  preach  four  or  five  times  a  week,  let  them 
superannuate."  Some  of  these  heroes  never  came  to  super- 
annuation as  is  evidenced  by  the  request  sent  to  the  Bishop 
presiding  in  the  Genesee  Conference  in  1811:  "Send  us  a 
pastor  this  year  who  can  swim.  The  preacher  you  sent  us 
last  year  got  drowned  trying  to  cross  the  river." 

There  were  heroes  in  those  days.  Occasionally  a  Peter 
Cartwright  would  live  to  give  the  Church  sixty-five  years  in 
the  effective  relation,  fifty  of  them  as  presiding  elder;  and 
preach  four  hundred  sermons  a  year.  Charles  Giles,  the  first 
Methodist  itinerant  to  preach  in  Syracuse,  Seth  Mattison 
and  Isaac  Puffer,  each  w^ent  down  with  a  half  century  of  royal 
service  to  their  credit.  But  a  host  of  others  were  mustered 
out  through  failure  either  of  health  or  purse,  before  their  sun 
had  reached  the  meridian.  One  cannot  forget  Ebenezer 
White,  of  whom  it  was  beautifully  said  that  "he  never  carried 


VETERAN'S  RANK  AND  RIGHTS  439 

sand  instead  of  salt,  nor  flowers  instead  of  fruit";  or  Ben- 
jamin Bidlock,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  who  was  known 
as  the  "warrior''  preacher,  and  who  fouo:ht  the  devil  as  val- 
iantly as  he  fought  King  George;  or  Valentine  Cook,  who 
gave  to  Methodism  that  ])iece  of  furniture  more  highly  prized 
than  any  other,  the  "Mourners  Bench."  Heroes  all,  with 
hearts  and  zeal  too  large  to  be  measured,  who  spelled  brother- 
hood and  service  in  the  same  terms  as  did  Christ. 

In  1848  the  General  Conference  authorized  the  quarterly 
conference  committee  on  each  charge,  to  estimate  the  cost 
of  the  pastor's  tal)le  expenses  and  fuel;  which  should  be  a 
claim  on  the  church  in  addition  to  the  annual  allowance  fi.ved 
hij  the  Discipline  for  pastoral  support.  After  sixty-four  years 
of  history  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  basis  of  support; 
which  should  make  it  possible  for  one  minister,  through 
the  generosity  of  his  church,  to  receive  more  than  another. 
Not,  however,  until  1860  was  there  a  complete  break  with  the 
past  in  this  respect,  when  for  the  first  time  the  General  Con- 
ference authorized  a  quarterly  conference  committee  on  each 
charge  to  estimate  a  "conifortal)le  support"  for  the  pastor. 
This  proN'ision  stands  to-day  without  material  modification. 
_  During  the  past  sixty-six  years  the  support  of  bishops,  pre- 
siding elders  and  pastors  has  materially  increased  through- 
out the  entire  Church.  According  to  the  Methodist  Year 
Book,  the  Bishops  now  receive  twenty-five  times  as  much  as 
they  did  in  1848.  The  District  Superintendents  receive  an 
average  of  ten  times  as  much  as  did  the  presiding  elders  sixty- 
six  years  ago,  and  pastors  four  and  one-half  times  as  much. 
The  progress  which  these  figures  show  in  ability  and  gen- 
erosity is  cause  for  gratification.  But  the  retired  itinerant, 
who  in  other  flays  l)ared  his  breast  to  the  foe,  now  marches 
at  the  rear  of  this  procession  of  advance.  In  1908  one  tliird 
of  the  Conference  Claimants  received  not  one  penny  more 
than  did  the  Claimant  in  1848.  Less  than  two  thirds  of  the 
entire  number  received  twice  as  much,  and  only  one  tentli 
received  three  times  as  much.  And  this  meager  amount  was 
doled  out  to  them  not  as  to  honored  brothers  of  equal  rank, 
but  as  to  paupers,  on  the  basis  of  necessity. 

The  last  five  years  have  witnessed  the  dawning  of  a  new 
day  for  the  Veterans  of  the  Cross  in  the  aimiy  of  our  Meth- 
odist itinerancy,  where  their  rank  and  rights  are  being  both 


440  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

recognized  and  restored.  No  longer  is  the  veteran's  claim 
based  on  necessity,  but  on  the  years  of  service  rendered.  No 
longer  is  the  offering  for  his  support  counted  as  a  "benevo- 
lence/' but  as  a  part  of  "ministerial  support,"  in  which  his 
claim  is  as  valid  as  that  of  a  pastor,  district  superintendent 
or  bishop.  At  last  the  veteran  stands  beside  the  men  now  in 
the  effective  ranks  as  their  honored  brother,  and  receives  with 
them  the  support  which  a  generous  Church  provides  for  all. 

The  last  General  Conference  made  provision,  fixing  the 
annuity  rate,  so  that  each  minister's  claim,  who  has  been  in 
the  effective  relation  for  thirty-five  years,  shall  be  one  half 
of  the  average  cash  salary  received  by  the  members  of  his  Con- 
ference. For  a  number  of  years  many  Conferences  had  been 
working  toward  the  goal  set  by  the  New  York  East  Confer- 
ence, namely :  To  pay  each  minister  on  retirement  ten  dollars 
for  each  year  of  effective  service.  Investigation,  however,  dis- 
closed the  fact  that  a  more  equitable  basis  should  be  estab- 
lished for  the  entire  Church.  For,  in  some  Conferences,  if  a 
minister  who  had  preached  fifty  years  should  receive  on  retir- 
ing ten  dollars  for  each  year  of  eff'ective  service,  he  would 
receive  much  more  than  the  active  pastors  were  receiving. 
There  are  eleven  Conferences  in  American  Methodism  where 
the  average  salary  is  $300  or  less;  and  twenty-two  Con- 
ferences, where  the  average  salary  does  not  exceed  $400.  The 
average  salary  received  by  members  of  the  Central  New  York 
Conference  is  $1,050;  which  amount  fixes  the  Disciplinary 
claim  of  a  Retired  Minister  avIio  has  preached  thirty-five 
years,  at  $525,  or  $15  for  each  year  of  active  service. 

The  whole  Church,  with  great  heaJiiness  and  unanimity, 
has  said  that  this  new  basis  is  right.  The  laymen  have 
spoken  with  their  gifts  as  well  as  with  their  lips.  In  five 
years  there  has  been  a  gain  in  moneys  contributed  for  annual 
distribution  of  nearly  one  hundred  per  cent.  Five  years  ago 
the  entire  Church  had  only  $600,000  to  distribute  among  the 
six  thousand  Conference  Claimants  of  Methodism.  This  year 
she  has  almost  $1,100,000  for  distribution.  The  present 
basis,  which  makes  the  Claimant  a  pensioner  rather  than  a 
pauper,  is  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  times.  Corpora- 
tions, municipalities  and  Boards  of  Education  are  coming  to 
recognize  the  principle  that  has  long  obtained  in  the  army, 
the  navy  and  the  courts,  that  every  faithful  toiler  has  a  claim 


VETEEAN'S  RANK  AND  EIGHTS  411 

upon  those  whom  he  has  served  through  many  years,  heyond 
that  of  his  salary  or  wage  during  the  term  of  his  active  service. 

The  growth  of  interest  and  funds  in  the  Central  New 
York  Conference  is  of  surpassing  interest.  In  18G9  the  Per- 
manent Fund  was  $9,000,  but  so  little  interest  attached  to  it 
that  it  required  twenty-four  years  to  add  the  next  thousand 
dollars;  and  eleven  years  more  to  add  the  next  six  thousand 
dollars  to  the  principal.  This  amount  was  doubled  during 
the  next  five  years,  and  during  the  last  five  years  has  increased 
six-fold. 

The  following  figures  indicate  this  increase. 

1869 $9,000  1911 $116,295 

1893 10,361  1912 132,906 

1904 16,923  1913 150,879 

1910 35,151  1914 200,000 


The  further  program  is,  1915,  $300,000;  1916,  $500,000. 

These  results  would  not  have  been  possible  but  for  the  mag- 
nificent gift  of  $50,000,  made  in  1911  l)y  a  son  of  the  parson- 
age, Mr.  George  H.  Maxwell,  whose  honored  father,  Joseph 
Maxwell,  spent  his  life  serving  small  charges.  The  challenge 
of  Mr.  Maxwell's  generosity  quickened  the  heart-beat  of  the 
entire  Conference,  and  the  momentum  acquired  in  matching 
his  gift  in  a  single  year  with  more  than  $50,000  in  cash  and 
subscriptions  has  carried  us  on  to  the  still  larger  results,  and 
made  possible  the  adoption  last  year  of  the  slogan  "Three 
Hundred  Thousand  Dollars  for  the  Permanent  Fund  by 
October  1,  1915."  The  Conference  has  not  yet  reached  the 
goal,  but  both  ministers  and  laymen  have  said  unanimously 
that  the  present  year  shall  record  the  Jubilee  of  achievement. 
Five  years  ago  twenty-eight  Conferences  surpassed  us  in  in- 
vested funds.  To-day  only  six  Conferences  have  a  larger  Per- 
manent Fund;  and  to-morrow  we  shall  be  still  nearer  the  head 
of  the  column.  Each  District  is  to  be  intrusted  with  raising 
$25,000,  have  charge  of  its  own  campaign,  and  determine 
both  the  time  and  methods  of  its  prosecution. 

The  Conference  campaign  is  greatly  stimulated  ])y  the  gen- 
eral movement  projected  l)y  the  last  General  Conference  to 
raise  $5,000,000  for  Conference  Claimants  throughout  the 
entire  Church  during  the  quadrennium.     The  Bishops  are 


442  THE  IJETIKED  MINISTER 

heartily  and  unanimously  supporting  this  movement;  which 
each,  in  his  own  Episcopal  Area,  is  to  direct.  Bishop  Burt  was 
the  first  to  call  representatives  of  the  Conferences  in  the  Buf- 
falo Area  to  confer  together  concerning  the  establishment  of  a 
Permanent  Fund  in  each  Conference;  with  the  result  that  the 
Conferences  of  this  Episcopal  Area  liave  each  set  a  goal  for 
th'emselves.  The  formal  inauguration  of  the  1915  CAM- 
PAIGN in  Washington,  at  which  time  the  Bishops  delivered 
their  "ADDRESS  AND  APPEAL  TO  THE  CHURCH,"  has 
added  enthusiasm  to  the  Campaign  in  all  the  Conferences. 
The  Bishops  and  District  Superintendents  have  said  that  for 
1915  the  Veterans'  Cause  shall  have  right  of  way,  and  shall  be 
the  one  financial  appeal  on  which  supreme  emphasis  shall  be 
placed.  The  general  movement  will  make  available  both  lit- 
erature and  speakers  for  Conference  campaigns;  and  by  an 
interchange  of  ideas,  methods  and  workers  each  Confer- 
ence will  receive  help  from  the  others  in  an  intensive  move- 
ment which  will  reach  every  pastor  and  charge  through  the 
mails,  group  meetings  and  team  work;  in  all  of  which  the 
pastors  and  District  Superintendents  will  be  assisted  by  a  com- 
mittee of  carefully  chosen  laymen  from  each  district. 

While  the  Pei-manent  Fund  is  being  secured,  and  until  the 
full  $300,000  shall  have  become  productive,  the  Annual  Con- 
ference unanimously  voted  to  apportion  to  the  several  pastoral 
charges  for  the  regular  Conference  Claimants'  collection  the 
amount  necessary  to  meet  the  full  annuity  claims.  If  the 
income  from  $300,000  w^as  immediately  available  we  could 
at  once 'pay  the  full  annuity  rate  of  $15  for  each  year  of 
effective  service,  without  increasing  the  apportionment.  But 
it  may  be  some  time  before  we  can  receive  full  returns  from 
the  Permanent  Fund.  Our  annual  apportionment  for  Confer- 
ence Claimants  was  therefore  increased  from  $10,000  to  $10,- 
000;  which,  added  to  the  Book  Concern  dividend,  the  dividend 
from  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  interest  on  invest- 
ments, etc.,  will  make  it  possible  to  pay  all  claims  in  full  be- 
ginning with  October,  1915,  and  to  give  to  the  Retired  Min- 
isters their  rightful  support.  This  will  be  quite  a  large  ad- 
vance, but  it  is  within  reason  and  ability.  The  amount  is 
no  more  than  the  Conference,  in  1868,  apportioned  and  en- 
forced the  apportionment  by  resolving  that:  "Any  preacher 
failing  to  report  the  full  amount  apportioned  to  his  charge, 


VETERAN'S  EANIv  AXD  RIGHTS  443 

shall  be   called  upon  to   give  satisfactory   reasons  for  such 
failure." 

Claimants  have  not  properly  shared  in  the  general  advance 
the  Church  has  made  since  1868.  In  1869  the  Central  New 
York  Conference  contributed  58  cents  per  capita  for  Missions. 
In  1913  this  had  increased  to  $1.29  per  member,  a  gain  of  122 
per  cent;  none  too  much  for  churches  as  favorably  situated 
as  are  ours.  But  during  the  same  period  the  apportionment 
for  Conference  Claimants  dccreasrd  from  35  cents  per  mem- 
ber to  less  than  22  cents.  It  is  the  plain  duty  of  the  Confer- 
ence to  ask  for  the  full  amount  needed,  as  the  Discipline 
directs.  By  so  doing  the  responsibility  is  transferred  to  the 
laymen;  many  of  whom  in  meeting  the  smaller  apportion- 
ment have  supposed  that  they  were  paying  the  full  claim,  not 
knowing  that  the  apportionment  to  the  churches  was  less  than 
two  thirds  of  what  was  really  needed.  If  the  pastors  fail  to 
acquaint  the  laymen  with  the  facts,  can  they  escape  respon- 
sil)ility  in  the  consequent  result?  Can  the  men  in  the  eil'ec- 
tive  ranks,  who  last  year  received  more  than  99  per  cent 
of  their  claims,  do  less  than  ask,  with  loving,  persistent  em- 
phasis, that  the  Veterans,  who  now  receive  but  55  per  cent  of 
their  due,  shall  receive  at  least  as  large  a  proportion  of  their 
claim  as  do  the  effective  members?  It  is  not  necessary  to 
raise  the  question  of  pro-rating.  The  law  is  clear,  and  our 
pastors  and  laymen  are  not  lawless.  Of  every  dollar  received 
for  ministerial  support  the  average  division  would  ])e  ap- 
proximately, 85  cents  for  the  pastor,  2  cents  for  the  Episcopal 
Fund,  6  cents  for  the  District  Superintendents,  and  7  cents 
for  Conference  Claimants.  AVhen  the  disciplinary  provisions 
are  followed  questions  involved  in  pro-rating  take  care  of 
themselves. 

The  laymen  are  making  more  generous  estimates  for  the 
support  of  their  pastors  than  forty  years  ago,  and  are  gen- 
erally paying  the  claim  in  full.  In  18T0  the  churclies  of  this 
Conference  defaulted  pa^auent  of  six  per  cent  of  the  pastors' 
salaries.  Last  year  the  deficit  was  less  than  one-half  of  one 
per  cent:  a  decrease  of  deficit  of  87  per  cent.  If  the  pastors 
were  to  contribute  the  amount  thus  added  to  their  income 
through  the  quickened  conscience  of  the  Church  the  full 
annuity  claim  for  the  Retired  Ministers  would  be  met. 

Although  in  the  practical  working  out  of  this  plan  it  may 


444  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

be  difficult  for  the  first  year  to  meet  the  increased  apportion- 
ment, still  the  pastor  who  is  called  upon  to  sacrifice  in  effort 
or  purse  may  find  comfort  not  only  in  the  thought  that  he  is 
helping  the  Veterans  to  their  just  claim,  too  long  withheld, 
but  also  in  the  knowledge  that  the  provisions  made  to  meet 
the  full  annuity  claim  are  equivalent  to  adding  $300  a  year  to 
the  invested  capital  of  every  pastor;  the  income  from  which 
at  five  per  cent  will  be  paid  him  and  his  family  without  pos- 
sible loss  or  shrinkage  from  the  time  of  his  retirement  until  his 
death.  The  annuity  claim  for  a  Minister  who  has  preached 
forty  years  is  better  than  an  investment  of  $12,000  to  one's 
credit.  Although  the  establishment  of  proper  standards  may 
mean  heroic  effort,  it  is  certainly  worth  while,  in  vicAV  of  the 
far-reaching  and  beneficent  results.  In  most  cases  the  pastor 
wdio  finds  it  hardest  to  meet  the  full  apportionment  while  in 
tlie  active  work,  will  be  the  one  who  will  find  the  fund  thus 
established  of  greatest  benefit  at  the  time  of  his  retirement. 

The  payment  of  the  full  annuity  claim  cannot  fail  to 
hearten  every  pastor  who  is  struggling  to  make  ends  meet  on 
an  all  too  meager  salary.  Men  will  go  to  the  weak  charges 
with  better  heart  for  the  hard  tasks,  and  will  be  more  content 
to  remain  in  the  fields  where  the  remuneration  is  small,  but 
the  importance  of  the  work  is  large,  in  the  knowledge  it  gives 
that  Methodism  appreciates  their  heroism  and  will  care  for 
them  to  the  end.  Every  pastor,  in  whatever  field,  will  sleep 
better  by  night  and  will  work  with  lighter  heart  by  day  in  the 
consciousness  that  the  Church,  to  whom  he  is  giving  his  life, 
has  made  adequate  provision  for  his  family  and  himself  as  an 
honorable  return  for  his  labor;  and  that,  whatever  financial 
reverses  may  come  to  him,  his  spirit  will  not  be  crushed  on 
retiring  by  being  compelled  to  receive  the  dole  of  a  pauper, 
which  only  prolongs  the  agony  of  starvation. 

Dr.  B.  I.  Ives,  the  invincible  hero  of  a  thousand  battles, 
used  to  say:  ''Whatever  ouglit  to  he  done  can  he  done."  To- 
day as  the  Church  faces  the  opportunity  and  obligation  of 
providing  adequately  for  the  honored  Veterans  of  Methodism, 
I  make  bold  to  declare,  not  only  that  we  ought  to  reach  the 
goal  in  1915,  and  that  we  can  reach  it;  but,  that  with  hearty 
cooperation  and  God's  blessing,  we  will  reach  it. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.  Frederick  T.  Keeney. 


STEWARDSHIP  IN 
EARLY  METHODISM 

THE  REV.  HARVEY  REEVES  CALKINS 

Stewardship  Secretary 


By  permission  of  the  Rev.  Harvey  Eeeves  Calkins,  D.D., 
author  of  the  recent  illuminating  book  A  Man  and  His 
Money,  we  reproduce  in  part  the  chapter  on  "Early  Steward- 
ship in  America."  There  is  a  temptation  to  include  much 
more,  but  the  book  itself  is  accessible.  The  early  idea  con- 
cerning the  support  of  the  ministry  is  still  reflected  in  the 
legislation  of  the  Church,  but  has  yielded  gradually  to  the 
spirit  of  the  age  and  to  contact  with  other  denominations, 
whose  pastors  have  a  salary  which  can  be  enforced  at  court, 
until  at  present  the  duty  of  supporting  the  entire  ministry 
is  recognized  by  the  laity;  and  Bishops,  District  Superin- 
tendents, Pastors  and  Retired  Preachers  are  provided  from 
a  common  budget.  The  principle  is  now  fully  recognized 
that  the  duty  of  the  ministers  to  minister  to  the  people 
involves  the  duty  of  the  people  to  support  the  ministers. 
—J.  B.  H. 

Until  the  death  of  its  first  Bishop,  the  Methodist  Ei)isco])al 
Church  is  responsible  for  tfiis  strange  anomaly — a  Pentecostal 
movement  of  unprecedented  power  and,  with  it,  a  meager, 
parsimonious,  and  wholly  unworthy  program  of  stewardship. 

Nor  did  this  come  from  mere  chance  or  neglect,  for  Meth- 
odist leaders  were  never  negligent.  It  was  the  unhappy  and 
unexpected  result  of  a  deliberate  policy,  whose  main  purpose 
was  to  produce  a  race  of  heroic  preachers.  And  the  logical 
result  followed.  With  amazing  swiftness  a  continental 
Church  was  created,  notably  strong  and  elastic  in  administra- 
tion; but  the  multitudes  that  made  up  its  membership,  the 
very  bone  and  sinew  of  American  Christianity,  never  realized 
the  vastness  of  the  responsibility  of  stewardship  that  in- 
evitably must  be  laid  upon  them.   .   .  .  The  exalted  dispensa- 

445 


446  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

tion  of  the  gospel,  which  was  committed  to  the  Methodists,  de- 
manded an  equally  exalted  program  of  stewardship,  and 
herein  their  failure  in  those  momentous  days  of  the  begin- 
ning proved  nothing  less  than  a  calamity.  The  purpose  of 
the  fathers,  unto  this  hour,  has  been  in  part  defeated,  because, 
in  their  mighty  program  of  advance,  they  failed  to  develop 
a  sufficient  base  to  carry  to  completion  their  vast  designs.  No 
one  will  misconstrue  us.  .  .  .  But  this  we  say :  Had  American 
Methodists  recognized  in  the  beginning  their  responsible  stew- 
ardship of  property,  as  was  their  right,  this  day  would  behold, 
in  vaster  measure  than  we  can  estimate,  the  triumph  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  glory  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  Methodist  people 
themselves  were  not  culpable  for  the  neglect  of  Christian  stew- 
ardship in  those  days  of  the  beginnings.  The  fathers  made 
mistakes.  The  heroic  Asbury  recognized  but  one  command- 
ing necessity:  the  creation  of  an  itinerant  ministry,  ready  to 
march  at  command  for  the  conquering  of  a  continent.  And 
Asbury  realized  his  ideal.  What  a  mighty  race  of  preachers 
rallied  to  the  banner  of  early  Methodism !  Brave,  indomi- 
table. Godly,  they  threaded  every  forest,  they  forded  every 
river,  they  subdued  every  wilderness.  The  record  of  their 
deathless  devotion  is  in  the  heart  of  the  nation. 

But  the  creation  of  a  race  of  preachers  is  not  the  whole  of 
apostolic  counsel.  Bishop  Asbury  was  tireless  in  leading 
forth  a  band  of  burden-bearing  ministers,  but,  judging  from 
preserved  records.  Bishop  Asbury  seemed  little  concerned  in 
raising  up  a  body  of  burden-bearing  laymen,  and  herein  he 
seems  to  have  erred  grievously.  As  we  contemplate  those  days 
of  the  foundations,  w^hen  hundreds  of  congregations  were 
being  knit  together  in  close  organic  connection,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  were  loosely  left  both  to  find  and  to  fix  their  own 
standards  of  stewardship,  it  is  difficult  to  explain  this  mis- 
judgment  of  the  responsil)le  leadership  of  the  Church.  It 
came  to  pass  again  and  again  that  brave  ministers,  those,  in- 
deed, who  could  least  be  spared  from  the  active  work,  were 
forced  by  dire  poverty  to  abandon  the  active  ministry. 

Even  so  gentle  a  spirit  as  Nathan  Bangs,  who  understood 
whereof  he  spoke,  Avrote  in  1839 :  "The  defect  of  Bishop 
Asbury's  administration,  as  I  think,  was  not  encouraging  the 
people  sufficiently  in  making  provision  for  their  ministers, 
particularly  for  men  of  families.     He  seemed  to  fear  that. 


EAELY  METHODIST  STEWARDSHIP  447 

if  they  were  too  well  off  as  respects  this  world's  goods,  they 
would  lose  their  zeal  and  spirituality,  and  thus  cease  to  be 
useful;  and  it  was  very  congenial  to  the  covetous  disposi- 
tion, so  natural  to  men,  to  withhold  when  they  were  not  com- 
pelled to  pay. 

"Bishop  Asbury  considered  the  itinerant  ministry,  under 
God,  as  the  grand  instrument  of  the  world's  salvation;  to 
support  this  therefore,  in  all  its  vigor  and  spirituality,  he  bent 
all  his  energies.  Hence,  to  prevent  a  catastrophe  which  must 
come  U2)on  the  Church  by  the  substitution  of  a  ^located'  for 
a  'traveling'  ministry,  he  thought  it  essential  to  keep  it  aloof 
from  the  world,  by  preventing  it  from  accumulating  worldly 
property.  Yet  it  may  be  questioned  whether  more  have  not 
been  induced  to  locate  from  a  feeling  or  fear  of  poverty  than 
b}^  the  enjoyment  of  a  com|)etency.  Had  a  comj)etent  pro- 
vision been  made  for  the  support  of  itinerant  ministers,  and 
for  the  suitable  education  of  their  children,  I  have  no  doubt 
we  should  have  been  far  stronger  every  way — in  wisdom,  in 
numl)ers,  in  ministerial  talent  and  usefulness,  if  not  also  in 
holiness  and  general  prosperity."  These  weighty  words  were 
written  while  the  heroic  days  of  the  fathers  were  fresh  in  the 
memory  of  a  host  of  living  men.   ... 

Keen  historic  insight  cannot  forget  those  hundreds  of 
located  preachers,  the  flower  of  the  army,  forced  out  of  the 
ranks  in  those  very  days  when  American  Methodism  was 
laying  down  the  lines  for  its  future  development.  As  early 
as  the  year  1799,  when  there  were  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
"traveling'^  preachers  in  the  actual  work,  Jesse  Lee  is  au- 
thority for  the  astounding  statement  that  there  were  eight 
hundred  and  fifty  "located"  preachers,  many  of  them  the 
most  commanding  leaders  of  the  Church.  That  is  to  say,  men 
who  had  completed  their  probation,  tested  men,  were  com- 
pelled to  step  aside  for  young  and  untried  men. 

It  is  an  astonishment  and  a  grief  to  recall  some  of  the 
noble  men,  who  ate  out  their  hearts  in  lonely  separation  from 
their  brethren,  when  to  preach  the  gospel  was  their  very 
l)reath  of  life.  There  was  Valentine  Cook,  the  one  great 
product  of  the  ill-fated  Cokesbury  College,  a  leader  of  pro- 
found spiritual  insight  as  well  as  of  genuine  culture.  ...  In 
1800  he  turned  heavily  from  the  ministry  to  feed  a  dependent 
familv,  and  as  a  school  teacher  earned  his  living. 


448  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

There  was  Russell  Bigelow,  whom  Bishop  Thomson  de- 
scribed as  '^Si  perfect  gentleman/'  who  preached  with  such 
majesty  of  thought  and  such  beauty  of  diction  that  his 
audiences  "were  well  nigh  paralyzed  beneath  the  avalanche 
of  thought  that  descended  upon  them."  Of  him  a  chief  jus- 
tice remarked,  "It  is  one  of  the  greatest  regrets  of  my  life 
that  I  did  not  know  him  better;  we  were  a  wild  people  when 
he  was  among  us  and  we  never  duly  appreciated  him."  And 
yet  Russell  Bigelow,  the  Bishop  Simpson  of  the  first  Meth- 
odists, and  absolutely  needed  by  the  Church  in  those  crude 
frontier  days,  turned  broken-hearted  from  the  ministry, 
which  he  loved  with  such  passion,  to  provide  bread  for  his 
wife  and  children.  He  died  in  extreme  poverty,  neglected 
and  alone. 

There  were  Caleb  Boyer  and  Ignatius  Pigman,  of  whom 
Bishop  Whatcoat  said  he  had  not  heard  their  equal,  except 
.  .  .  Wesley  and  Fletcher.  There  was  Edward  Dromgoole, 
whose  practical  wisdom  prevented  the  disi-uption  of  the  early 
societies  and  made  possible  the  organization  of  Episcopal 
Methodism.  There  was  Ira  Ellis,  of  whom  Asbury  himself 
said  he  had  "abilities  not  inferior  to  a  Jefferson  or  a  Madison.^' 
There  were  James  Cromwell,  Jonathan  Forrest,  Lemuel 
Green,  John  Hagerty.  Yet  these  ordained  ministers  of  God, 
all  of  them,  and  scores  and  hundreds  of  others  besides,  were 
compelled  to  withdraw  from  the  active  ministry  of  the 
Church  whose  altars  they  had  builded. 

This  unconscional)le  sacrifice  of  leaders,  when  leadership 
was  above  the  price  of  rubies,  is  almost  incredible.  Why  was 
it  necessary?  In  the  large  majority  of  cases  because  stern 
duty  compelled  it;  because  Methodist  ministers  had  to  turn 
from  the  ministry  in  order  to  provide  food  for  their  dependent 
families.  Because,  forsooth,  Francis  Asbury  inflexibly  de- 
manded that  Methodist  preachers  should  provide  for  their 
expenses  on  a  stipend  of  $64  a  year!  In  1800  an  increase 
of  $16  a  year  was  permitted,  but,  until  the  death  of  the 
immovable  Bishop,  to  whom  the  itinerancy  was  more  worth 
than  the  itinerant,  Methodist  preachers  received  lodgings 
among  the  people  and  $80  a  year  "and  no  more,"  for  their 
salary. 

Of  course  a  family  could  not  be  maintained  on  this  pit- 
tance, nor  was  a  family  in  the  program  of  the  itinerancy. 


EAELY  METHODIST  STEWARDSHIP  449 

When  godly  men  had  announced  their  purpose  of  marriage 
the  good  Bishop  petulantly  exclaimed,  "The  devil  and  the 
women  are  getting  after  my  preachers !"  not  seeming  to  per- 
ceive that  God  had  a  larger  purpose,  even  for  "The  Itiner- 
ancy/' wlien  faithful  ministers  made  covenant  bonds  with  holy 
women.  A  remnant  were  indeed  able  to  maintain  their  minis- 
try unto  the  end,  and  some  great  names  survive  out  of  that 
first  eventful  and  crucial  generation.  But  who  were  they  ? — 
Richard  Whatcoat,  Jesse  Lee,  William  McKendree,  Beverly 
Waugh — men  who,  like  Asbury  himself,  were  able  to  remain 
bachelors  and  live  the  camp  life  of  a  soldier,  and  who  were, 
therefore,  able  to  continue  in  the  Methodist  ministry.  Free- 
born Garrettson  married  a  lady  of  wealth,  as  well  as  piety, 
so  he  too  was  able  to  hold  his  place  of  leadership.  These  and 
a  few  other  names  are  held  in  abiding  honor,  for  their  works 
do  follow  them.  But  of  the  many  brave  men  who  died,  un- 
famed  and  forgotten,  their  life  tragedy  is  recorded  in  the  early 
Conference  Minutes.     One  word  reveals  it  all:  "Located." 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  Methodist  people  were  loath 
to  support  their  ministers,  or  begrudged  them  a  competent 
allowance.  They  loved  their  pastors  and  never  was  a  people 
more  loyal  than  the  people  called  Methodists.  But  they  were 
trained  to  believe  that  the  work  of  God  would  be  impeded  if 
their  ministers  should  receive  the  comforts  of  temporal  pros- 
perity; they  would  then  be  unwilling  to  "travel."  It  was  in 
reality  a  discounting  of  the  very  manhood  and  consecration  of 
Methodist  preachers  themselves.  Bishop  Asbury  thought  he 
knew  human  nature,  and  the  rule  respecting  a  minister's 
salary  remained  in  force.  That  the  Methodist  people  them- 
selves were  ready  to  respond  with  liberal  contributions  is 
apparent,  for  they  built  and  equipped  Cokesbury  College. 
When  it  was  burned  and  the  second  Cokesbury  College 
was  consumed.  Dr.  Coke  exclaimed,  "0  that  all  this  money 
had  been  laid  out  for  a  married  ministry !"  But  it  was  not  to 
l)e.  The  married  preachers  were  "located,"  and  striplings 
took  their  places. 

Stewardship  started  on  a  high  level  and  might  have  been 
conspicuous  from  the  beginning,  for  the  preachers  and 
the  people  were  ready.  But  the  vision  of  Coke  was  not  shared 
by  Bisliop  As])ury.  Alas !  two  generations  were  to  pass  before 
that  neglected  vision  would  come  again. 


450  THE  PvETIRED  MmiSTER 

It  can  never  be  well  when  the  responsible  leaders  of  the 
Church  undertake  to  set  at  naught,  for  any  reason,  the  divine 
word,  '^Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that 
treadeth  out  the  corn."  From  the  time  the  holy  tithe  of  the 
Jewish  people  was  set  apart  for  the  support  of  the  tribe  of 
Levi  it  was  ordained,  "They  that  minister  about  holy  things 
live  of  the  things  of  the  temple/'  Even  so,  "They  which 
preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel."  If  Asbury 
neglected  to  follow  this  ancient  command,  other  apostles  be- 
fore him  had  fallen  into  the  same  mistake.  The  church  at 
Corinth  failed  to  provide  a  support  for  the  apostle  Paul  when 
he  labored  among  them ;  and  Paul  gloried  that  he  worked  with 
his  own  hands,  lest  he  should  become  burdensome  unto  them. 
This  seems  like  great  magnanimity  and  worthy  of  high  praise. 
Nevertheless,  when  Paul  beheld  that  same  church  "strait- 
ened in  their  own  affections,"  when  they  might  have  been 
"enlarged,"  he  remembered  that  he  himself  had  omitted  to 
train  them  in  personal  lessons  of  stewardship;  and  he  wrote, 
"Forgive  me  this  wrong."  Could  the  spirit  of  Asbury  travel 
again  those  pioneer  circuits  of  a  vanished  generation,  would 
he  not  utter  the  lament  of  the  great  and  sorrowing  apostle  ? 

It  is  congenial  to  our  ingrained  hero-worship  to  magnify 
the  men  who  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  gospel ;  it  is  not  con- 
genial to  lay  upon  them  the  blame  for  an  unready  Church. 
Yet  what  shall  we  say?  In  March,  1816,  Bishop  Asbury  died. 
In  May  the  General  Conference  met  in  Baltimore.  One  of 
the  most  significant  acts  of  the  General  Conference  of  1816 
was  the  recasting  of  the  Church  law  for  the  support  of  the 
ministry.  The  salary  of  "traveling"  preachers  was  increased 
to  a  fair  competency,  and  a  worthy  plan  inaugurated  for 
reaching  Methodist  people  with  a  larger  program  of  steward- 
ship. But  the  reform  had  come  too  late.  Thirty- two  years 
had  passed  since  the  organization  of  the  Church,  and  an 
entire  generation  were  entrenched  in  the  financial  doctrines 
of  Asbury.  It  was  an  arduous  undertaking  to  change  in- 
wrought convictions  and  lifelong  habits.  "A  penny  a  week 
and  a  shilling  a  quarter"  had  provided  sufficient  living  for 
the  mighty  men  of  the  beginning;  who  were  these  later  preach- 
ers, that  they  should  expect  more?  Thus  ever  has  incompe- 
tency glorified  a  golden  age  that  is  past ! 

Evanston,  111.  Harvey  E.  Calkins. 


EZEKIEL  COOPER 
AND     JOHN    DICKINS 

THE  REV.  JOHN  KRANTZ,  D.D. 

General  Sales  Agent  of   The  Methodist    Book   Concern 


John  Dickins  and  Ezekiel  Cooper  were  leaders  of  the  Meth- 
odist publishing  propaganda  whose  products  and  profits  have 
done  so  much  for  the  intellectual,  spiritual  and  financial  wel- 
fare of  the  Methodist  ministry.  They  started  that  mag- 
nificent flow  of  dividends  which  annually  pours  into  the 
treasury  of  the  claimants'  fund. 

At  the  Conference  in  1789  the  plan  was  proposed  for  the 
establishment  of  a  book-making  institution,  and  the  Eev. 
John  Dickins  was  appointed  "Book  Steward/'  afterward 
known  as  superintendent  of  the  printing  and  book  business. 
It  was  one  thing  to  project  such  an  enterprise  by  vote,  and 
was  quite  another  to  launch  it  safely  on  the  sea  of  uncertainty. 
In  this  crisis  Mr.  Dickins  generously  offered  to  loan  the  busi- 
ness the  savings  of  a  lifetime,  six  hundred  dollars,  an  act  of 
heroic  faith  and  far-seeing  vision.  He  was  not  afraid  of  mort- 
gaging the  future,  of  subtracting  much  of  himself  from  him- 
self in  order  to  carry  on  a  tremendously  useful  work  for  God. 

John  Dickins,  Book  Steward,  was  required  at  first  to  take 
a  pastoral  charge,  and  was  not  only  burdened  with  the  cares 
of  a  parish,  but  he  was  editor,  proof  reader,  business  manager, 
bookkeeper,  salesman  and  shipping  clerk  of  the  infant  pub- 
lishing house.  In  addition,  he  faced  serious  embarrassments 
in  the  publishing  business,  since  he  had  to  depend  for  the 
distribution  and  sale  of  his  goods  on  a  few  ministers  wdio 
were  weighted  down  already  with  numerous  burdens,  and 
had  to  travel  great  distances  over  rough  ways  and  often 
through  overflowing  streams.  Both  the  clergy  and  the  laity 
were  poor,  and  very  little  cash  was  at  command.  So  he  had 
to  trust  out  most  of  the  merchandise.  He  had  no  experience 
in  printing  or  publishing  and  was  without  precedent  or 
model  to  guide  him.     Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  commence- 

451 


452  THE  JJETIKED  MINISTER 

ment  of  the  publishing  interests  of  the  Church  soon  became 
a  matter  of  grave  concern  to  Mr.  Dickins  and  his  counselors ! 
They  had  to  be  concerned  about  it  day  and  night  in  order  to 
keep  the  enterprise  alive;  from  which  manifested  care  origi- 
nated the  title  "Book  Concern'^  which  name  first  appears  in 
the  Conference  Minutes  of  1792.  After  three  years  Mr. 
Dickins  was  released  from  pastoral  work  that  he  might  give 
his  entire  time  to  his  duties  as  superintendent  of  the  Book 
Business.  The  sum  of  $666.33  1-3  was  the  "estimate"  for  his 
salary  and  house  rent. 

The  first  payment  to  the  superannuate  fund  was  $307.29. 
During  his  term  of  office  he  published  114,000  volumes.  Not- 
withstanding the  many  hindrances  in  the  way  his  administra- 
tion was  wise,  prudent,  safe  and  economical.  By  the  blessing 
of  God  upon  this  one  man's  pioneer  labors,  he  created  influ- 
ences whose  vibrations  are  now  reaching  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth.  He  was  a  man  of  small  stature  but  of  great 
spirit;  of  quick  apprehension  and  sound  judgment;  just  and 
generous.  He  died  at  his  post  in  1798  during  a  yellow  fever 
plague.  Stricken  in  the  city  he  refused  to  leave  it,  even  when 
urged  by  his  friends  by  word  and  example.  With  his  own 
hands  he  ministered  to  the  sick  and  dying  until  he  himself 
fell  a  victim  to  the  pestilential  ravages.  His  last  words  were, 
"Glory  to  Jesus !  I  have  not  felt  in  seven  years  so  much  like 
trusting  and  praising  Him."  He  was  a  notable  figure  among 
the  fathers  of  Methodism.  He  was  faithful  in  the  pulpit,  "a 
thundering  Methodist,"  and  his  loss  was  deeply  felt  by  the 
Church.  "According  to  his  time  and  02:)portunity  he  was  one 
of  the  greatest  characters  that  ever  graced  the  pulpit  or 
adorned  the  society  of  Methodists." 

At  the  time  of  Dickins's  death  the  Eev.  Ezekiel  Cooper, 
who  was  the  chairman  of  the  Publishing  Committee,  was  so 
shocked  that  he  questioned  whether  another  man  could  be 
found,  qualified  to  take  his  place.  An  appeal  from  Bishop 
Asbury  finally  persuaded  Mr.  Cooper  against  his  wishes  to 
take  up  the  work  of  the  fallen  leader;  but  consented  to  his 
appointment  and  election  only  on  condition  that  it  be  "year 
by  year."  The  result  showed  that  the  mantle  of  Elijah  had 
fallen  on  the  shoulders  of  Elisha.  Mr.  Cooper  found  the  busi- 
ness crippled  by  debt,  and  collections  badly  in  arrears.  Mr. 
Dickins  was  an  Englishman,  slow  in  thought  and  movement. 


COOPER  AND  DICKINS  453 

steady,  easy  and  indulgent.  Ezekiel  Cooper  was  an  American 
born,  sharp,  quick,  aggressive  man  of  affairs,  and  an  expert 
in  details.  He  infused  new  energy  and  introduced  new 
methods.  He  stirred  up  the  clergy  and  membership  of  the 
Church  by  setting  forth  clearly  the  aims  and  possibilities  of 
the  Book  Concern.  He  began  the  custom  of  Conference  visi- 
tation, and  impressed  on  the  preachers  the  fact  of  their  owner- 
ship of  and  agency  for  the  publishing  interests.  Consign- 
ments of  books  and  supplies  for  sale  and  distribution  were 
sent  out  to  tlie  presiding  elders  and  pastors,  who  had  to  give 
an  account  of  their  stewardship  and  report  collections  and 
circulation  to  the  Annual  Conferences.  The  preachers  worked 
tlie  machinery  and  commercial  advantages  of  this  unique  in- 
stitution for  all  they  were  worth,  and  very  soon  the  Book 
Concern  became  a  fountain  of  revenue ;  a  hint  to  us,  their 
living  successors,  that  if  we  will  loyally,  industriously  and 
thoroughly  utilize  the  benefits  of  this  educational,  benevolent 
and  money-making  organization,  we  will  reap  an  annual 
harvest  of  half  a  million  dollars  for  Conference  Claimants. 
So  energetic  and  effective  was  Mr.  Cooper's  work  that  he 
advanced  the  business  capital  from  nothing  to  nearly  $50,000. 

During  a  sermon  preached  by  Freeborn  Garrettson  to  a  com- 
pany of  Revolutionary  soldiers  his  attention  was  attracted 
by  the  thoughtful,  absorbing  aspect  of  a  boy  thirteen  years 
of  age  who  was  leaning  against  the  gate.  That  boy  became 
the  illustrious  Ezekiel  Cooper.  Early  in  life  he  gave  promise 
of  remarkable  gifts  and  powers.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was 
sent  out  as  a  circuit  preacher.  He  was  only  thirty  years  old 
when  he  was  appointed  presiding  elder  of  the  Boston  District. 
At  thirty-six  he  was  elected  Publishing  iVgent.  Mr.  Cooper 
was  an  eloquent  preacher,  a  very  learned  man,  possessed  of 
such  a  diversity  of  information  that  they  called  him  the 
"walking  encyclopedia."  I  can  do  but  scant  justice  to  these 
mighty  princes  in  Israel.  In  fact,  very  little  comparatively 
is  written  about  them ;  they  are  famous  through  their  works 
which  follow  them.  They  need  no  elaborate  biography,  bronze 
tal)lets,  towering  monuments  or  glowing  panegyrics  to  per- 
petuate their  memory.  The  publishing  house  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  of  which  they  were  the  founders,  is 
their  enduring  monument. 

150  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York.  John  Krantz. 


ANNUAL  CONFERENCE  REPRESENTATIVES 

w   r   KnoNs  L-  E.  Lennox 

J.  B.  Gibson  ^^  •  ^-  ^^^^^^  ^   ^  B^ss 

w   TT   ATttter  R.S.Borland  E.  C  .  13ass 

W.  H.  Miller  George  Hartunq 

F.  E.  Bauchop  ^r^ihle  G.  C.  Wilding 

John  Sweet  G.  Raihle 


JOHN  STREET 
CHURCH,  NEW  YORK 

THE  REV.  J.  WESLEY  JOHNSTON,  D.D. 

New  York  East  Conference 


Just  as  at  Plymouth  Eock  certain  figures  come  into  promi- 
nence and  their  names  from  henceforth  are  imperishable,  so 
in  the  early  history  of  John  Street  Church  there  are  those  to 
whom  Methodism  is  under  obligations  which  will  outlast  the 
generations. 

Perhaps  the  first  of  these  is  Philip  Embury,  who  was  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  beginnings  of  Methodism  in  ^ew 
York.  Of  Irish  birth,  for  he  was  born  in  the  south  of  Ire- 
land, but  of  German  blood,  he  combined  some  of  the  qualities 
of  both  races,  being  warm  in  spirit,  fervid  of  soul,  eloquent 
of  speech,  yet  cautious,  careful  and  singularly  prudent  in 
matters  of  business.  In  every  way — temperament,  habit, 
home  training — Embury  was  eminently  qualified  for  leader- 
ship. A  man  of  less  buoyancy  would  have  failed  in  the  years 
of  discouragement;  one  of  less  prudence,  in  the  years  of  pros- 
perity. 

Under  the  preaching  of  Wesley,  who  visited  Ireland  in 
1752,  Embury  was  deeply  stirred,  and  ere  long  entered  into 
a  gracious  religious  experience.  His  gifts  as  a  speaker  were 
soon  recognized  and  he  was  appointed  class  leader,  then  local 
preacher,  and  at  the  Limerick  Conference  in  1758,  where 
Wesley  presided,  he  was  recommended  as  an  itinerant 
preacher  and  placed  on  the  reserve  list. 

In  1760  Embury  emigrated  to  New  York  and  for  a  time 
resided  in  John  Street.  At  that  time  New  York  was  a  small 
city  with  a  population  of  about  twenty  thousand,  with  no 
signs  of  immediate  growth;  for  when  a  benevolent  man 
offered  six  acres  of  ground,  at  Canal  Street  and  Broadway, 
to  the  trustees  of  a  Lutheran  church,  they  declined  the  gift, 
saying  that  the  land  was  not  worth  fencing  in !  John  Street, 
where  Embury  lived,  was  a  sulnirb  in  the  "North  Ward." 

455 


456  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

But,  though  New  York  was  small  as  compared  with  the 
New  York  of  to-day,  relatively  it  was  perhaps  even  more 
wicked.  For  the  presence  of  a  large  body  of  British  troops, 
officered  by  men  of  profligate  tastes,  among  whom  gambling, 
drunkenness  and  vicious  pursuits  were  common,  affected  the 
people  generally  and  resulted  in  the  coarsest  forms  of  dissi- 
pation and  sin.  Either  through  natural  diffidence,  or  because 
of  the  strangeness  of  his  surroundings,  as  far  as  we  can  ascer- 
tain, Embury  made  no  serious  attempt  to  rally  his  fellow 
Christians  until  the  spring  of  1766. 

This  introduces  another  character,  the  far-famed  Barbara 
Heck,  a  woman  of  rare  piety  and  courage,  through  whom 
God  began  a  work  which  not  only  continues  to  this  day  but 
with  each  succeeding  year  widens  in  influence  and  power. 
Like  Embury,  Barbara  Heck  too  came  from  Ireland,  and  like 
him  she  was  a  Methodist ;  but,  unlike  him,  she  was  not  diffi- 
dent, neither  was  she  restrained  by  those  around  her.  Hence, 
with  characteristic  fearlessness,  she  entered  the  room  where 
a  company  of  men  were  playing  cards,  and  instantly  she  re- 
buked them  for  what,  to  her,  seemed  a  sin  against  God.  Then 
gathering  up  the  cards  from  the  tables  she  flung  them  into 
the  fire,  meantime  exhorting  the  men  to  abandon  forever  such 
abominable  pursuits.  Her  next  step  was  to  seek  Philip  Em- 
bury to  whom  she  said  with  intense  feeling : 

"You  must  preach  to  us,  or  we  shall  all  go  to  hell,  and  God 
will  require  our  blood  at  your  hands." 

"How  can  I  preach,  for  I  have  neither  a  place  nor  a  con- 
gregation ?" 

"You  can  preach  in  your  own  house,"  she  promptly  an- 
swered. And  so  he  did — to  a  congregation  of  five — his  wife, 
Paul  and  Barbara  Heck,  John  Lawrence  and  Betty,  a  colored 
servant  of  Mr.  Heck. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  American  Methodism  in  Oc- 
tober, 1766.  Just  think  of  then  and  now !  Then  five  persons 
to  hear  the  first  sermon ;  now  five  millions,  and  more,  assemble 
in  Methodist  churches  every  Sunday  to  hear  "the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God."  Then  the  little  company  met  in  a  private 
house,  now  twice  ten  thousand  churches  would  not  accommo- 
date the  mighty  host.  The  Methodist  Church  in  America 
is  a  miracle  of  miracles. 

The  third  person  in  this  historic  and  immortal  group  is 


JOHN  STREET  CHURCH  457 

Captain  Thomas  Webb,  whose  entrance  on  the  scene  was  both 
dramatic  and  startling.  One  day  when  'the  little  company 
had  assembled  for  worship  a  stranger  appeared  dressed  in  full 
military  uniform.  All  eyes  turned  anxiously  to  him.  Why 
had  he  come?  Did  he  mean  to  persecute  them,  to  interrupt 
their  service,  to  prohibit  them  from  meeting  together?  But 
when  they  saw  his  earnest,  devotional  spirit,  and  the  gladness 
with  which  he  united  in  the  service  their  fears  were  at  once 
allayed  and  they  gave  him  cordial  welcome.  When  the  service 
was  over  he  introduced  himself  as,  "Captain  Thomas  Webb,  of 
Albany,  a  soldier  of  the  cross  and  a  spiritual  son  of  John  Wes- 
ley.^' A  thrill  of  gladness  was  felt  by  all  present,  for  the 
coming  of  such  a  man,  an  officer  in  the  king's  army,  meant 
a  great  deal  to  them.  At  that  time  Methodism  was  bitterly 
denounced  almost  everywhere.  It  was  made  the  topic  of 
ribald  songs,  sung  on  the  streets  and  in  the  theaters.  Ser- 
mons were  preached  against  it  in  the  leading  pulpits.  To  be 
a  Methodist  was  to  incur  ridicule.  To  have  a  man  of  the 
high  rank  of  Captain  Webb  unite  with  the  little  Church  at 
this  time  was,  therefore,  like  the  incoming  of  reenforcements 
to  a  beleaguered  garrison.  And,  humanly  speaking,  the  com- 
ing of  no  other  man  could  have  been  more  opportune.  Hearty, 
earnest,  popular  in  speech,  courageous  to  a  high  degree,  as 
many  a  battlefield  bore  witness,  wonderfully  effective  as  a 
preacher  and  with  a  zeal  which  never  faltered  or  declined, 
Captain  Webb  was  preeminently  qualified  to  be  one  of  the 
leading  spirits  in  the  founding  of  American  Methodism. 

After  the  coming  of  Captain  Webb,  the  room  which  Em- 
bury had  hired  became  too  small  for  the  rapidly  increasing 
congregation.  So  in  1767  a  rigging  loft  was  rented,  on  what 
is  now  known  as  William  Street.  The  rigging  loft  was  a 
long  narrow  room  fitted  up  with  plain  benches,  with  a  rude 
pulpit  made  by  Embury  himself.  But  God  wonderfully  hon- 
ored this  unpretentious  place.  Every  service  was  a  season 
of  gracious  visitation.  Divine  favor  rested  on  the  word  of 
the  preacher.  Conversions  were  frequent.  Soon  it  became 
manifest  that  a  larger  place  must  be  found.  But  where? 
And  if  found  where  was  the  money  with  which  to  erect  a 
building.  Those  in  that  rigging  loft  society,  with  the  exception 
of  Captain  Webb,  were  of  the  most  humble  conditions  in  life. 
But  Barbara  Heck,  with  the  splendid  faith  of  a  heroic  woman, 


458  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

insisted  that  the  work  was  of  God  and  that  He  would  open 
their  way,  provided  that  they  had  the  courage  to  follow  His 
leadings.  And  so  it  proved;  for  in  a  way  assuredly  provi- 
dential a  lot  was  secured  on  what  is  now  John  Street,  then 
known  as  Golden  Hill;  and  here  was  built,  on  this  site  on 
which  the  present  John  Street  Church  now  stands,  the  first 
Methodist  church  in  America. 

Like  the  rigging  loft,  only  much  more  commodious,  John 
Street  Church  was  a  plain,  simple  stone  building,  with  gal- 
leries which  at  first  were  accessible  only  by  ladders.  The 
interior  walls  remained  in  their  original  rough  plaster  and 
the  seats  had  no  backs;  the  floor,  however,  had  a  coating  of 
fine  white  sand.  To  meet  the  requirements  of  the  law  then 
prevailing  in  the  colonies,  which  provided  that  no  religious 
services  could  be  held  in  churches  other  than  those  properly 
legalized,  a  fireplace  and  chimney  were  placed  in  the  new 
edifice,  thus  technically  making  it  a  dwelling  house.  This 
was  a  bit  of  legal  fiction  to  which  dissenters  at  that  time  were 
forced  to  resort.  Having  no  Bishop  or  distinguished  church 
official  to  assist  in  the  service  of  dedication,  the  privilege  fell 
to  Philip  Embury,  who,  from  a  pulpit  made  by  his  own  hands, 
preached  the  dedicatory  sermon. 

And  now  the  miracle  of  the  rigging  loft  repeated  itself. 
The  same  divine  favor  which  had  been  manifested  so  wonder- 
fully there  crowded  the  services  of  the  new  church,  so  that 
the  congregations  overflowed  the  building,  at  times  filling  the 
area  in  front  of  it.  It  was  seen  that  Embury  must  have  help, 
so  in  response  to  an  urgent  appeal  Wesley  sent  Richard  Board- 
man  and  Joseph  Pilmoor.  Robert  Williams,  however,  eager 
for  work  in  the  new  world,  hastened  to  the  port  where  a  dear 
friend  was  about  to  sail,  sold  his  horse  to  pay  his  debts,  and 
carrying  his  saddle-bags  on  his  arm,  set  off  for  the  ship  with 
a  loaf  of  bread,  a  bottle  of  milk,  but  no  money  to  pay  his 
passage.  His  friend  and  fellow  passenger,  Mr.  Ashton,  met 
the  expense,  and  on  arriving  in  New  York  Robert  Williams 
became  the  first  regularly  appointed  minister  of  John  Street 
Church. 

In  1771  Francis  Asbury  came  as  pastor.  He  refers  to  this 
in  his  journal,  and  a  tablet  giving  something  of  Asbury's 
record  may  be  found  on  the  walls  of  the  present  John  Street 
Church. 


JOHN  STREET  CHUECH  459 

It  is  significant  tliat  during  the  years  of  the  Eevolution 
John  Street  Churcli  was  strangely  delivered  from  either 
sacrilege  or  destruction.  A  fire  in  1776,  which  started  near 
Whitehall  and  destroyed  one  quarter  of  the  city,  consuming 
Trinity  Church,  the  Lutheran  church,  and  fifteen  hundred 
dwelling  houses  near  by,  left  John  Street  Church  unscathed. 
And  when  the  British  army  was  using  New  York  as  its  head- 
quarters, the  churches  generally  were  taken  for  military  pur- 
poses;  as,  for  example,  the  Dutch  church  on  Nassau  Street, 
which  was  occupied  as  a  prison,  John  Street  Church  suffered 
no  violation  whatever.  All  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  were 
occupied  by  the  military;  the  Baptist  church  was  converted 
into  a  stable;  the  Quaker  meetinghouse  on  Pearl  Street  was 
used  as  a  hospital;  and  the  Dutch  church  on  William  Street 
was  made  a  jail  for  liberty-loving  Americans;  and  yet  John 
Street  Church  experienced  no  inconvenience,  save  that  on  Sun- 
day morning  it  was  occupied  by  the  Hessians  for  services  con- 
ducted by  their  own  chaplains;  the  Methodists  using  it  at 
night,  and  at  such  other  times  as  they  desired  for  the  worship 
of  God.  This  is  most  remarkable,  and  it  is  something  to 
remember  with  profound  gratitude  that  for  all  these  years, 
without  a  single  Sunday's  intermission,  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God  has  been  preached  in  old  John  Street  Church. 

At  the  Conference  of  1789  held  in  John  Street  Church 
John  Dickins,  a  former  pastor,  and  who  had  the  honor  of 
giving  the  Methodist  Society  the  title  of  "Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,"  was  appointed  Book  Steward.  The  Methodist  Book 
Concern  was  therefore  born  in  John  Street  Church,  for  John 
Dickins  with  a  borrowed  capital  of  six  hundred  dollars,  at 
once  took  up  the  work  assigned  him. 

In  1817  the  first  church  gave  way  to  one  very  much  larger, 
and  better  adaj^ted  for  the  needs  of  the  constantly  increasing 
congregations,  and  the  service  of  dedication  was  conducted 
by  Nathan  Bangs,  Samuel  Merwin,  and  Joshua  Soule,  later 
a  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  In  this 
church  John  Summerfield  preached  his  first  sermon  on  his 
arrival  from  Ireland,  and  some  time  afterward  served  it  as 
pastor.  For  years  John  Street  Church  was  the  stronghold 
of  Methodism  in  New  York;  but  in  time  business  began  to 
make  serious  inroads  in  that  section  of  the  city,  so  much  so 
that  in  1854  the  trustees  voted  to  sell  the  property  and  erect 


460  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

a  new  building  on  Madison  Square.  This  led  to  a  struggle 
worthy  of  Revolutionary  days,  for  there  was  a  defiance  of 
law  on  the  part  of  the  downtown  portion  of  the  membership 
equal  to  that  of  the  colonists.  They  literally  entrenched 
themselves  in  the  church  building,  eating  in  it,  sleeping  in  it, 
holding  services  in  it;  finally  arousing  such  a  general 
sentiment  against  the  sale  that  the  proceedings  had  to  be 
abandoned. 

The  present  church  building  is  practically  as  it  was  when 
dedicated  in  1841,  and  though  the  site  on  which  it  stands  is 
one  of  the  most  valuable  in  New  York,  yet  no  board  of  trus- 
tees would  suggest  even  the  possibility  of  a  sale.  John  Street 
Church  does  not  belong  to  any  trustee  board,  nor  to  any 
Annual  Conference,  nor  to  any  General  Conference,  however 
august  the  body  may  be.  John  Street  Church  is  the  property 
of  worldwide  Methodism :  the  Methodism  of  the  past,  present 
and  future.  What  Plymouth  Rock  meant  to  the  Pilgrim 
fathers,  what  Bunker  Hill  meant  to  the  heroes  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, what  Gettysburg  means  to  this  republic,  old  John  Street 
Church  means  to  Methodism,  for  it  stands  as  the  rock  where 
our  Church  first  had  a  foundation,  it  stands  as  a  symbol  of 
the  battle  that  was  fought  against  religious  intolerance  and 
persecution,  it  stands  as  the  pledge  and  promise  of  God's 
favor  for  the  generations  to  come. 

J.  Wesley  Johnston. 

1320  Forty-eighth  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


WILLS  ARE  UNCERTAIN 

The  old  lady  sent  for  her  lawyer  to  make  her  will. 

"I  wish  to  explain  to  you,''  she  said  weakly,  ^^about  my  prop- 
erty." 

The  lawyer  was  sympathetic.  "There,  there,  don't  worry 
about  it.    Just  leave  it  to  me." 

"0,  well,"  said  the  old  lady  resignedly.  "I  suppose  I  might 
as  well.    You'll  get  it  anyway." 

If  you  would  rather  have  the  old  preacher  get  it  than  the 
lawyer,  buy  Life  Annuity  Bonds. 


ST.  GEORGE'S 

CHURCH, 

PHILADELPHIA 

THE  REV.  J.  S.  HUGHES,  D.D.,  PASTOR 

Corresponding  Secretary  Preachers  Aid  Society 
Philadelphia  Conference 


To  Captain  Thomas  Webb  belongs  the  honor  of  unfurling 
the  banner  of  Methodism  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  an  officer 
of  the  British  Army,  a  man  of  good  social  position  and  of 
unstinted  means,  who  had  been  converted  under  John 
Wesley,  and  was  a  licensed  local  preacher.  In  1768  he  visited 
Philadelphia,  and  began  to  preach  in  a  sail-loft  near  the  draw- 
bridge, which  spanned  Dock  Creek.  Here  a  class  of  seven 
persons  was  formed,  Mr.  Emerson  being  chosen  leader,  and 
among  the  first  converts  was  Mr.  Croft,  the  owner  of  the  room 
in  which  the  meetings  were  first  held.  After  a  time  the 
meeting-place  was  changed  to  a  house  in  Loxley's  Court,  a 
small  thoroughfare  east  of  Fourth  Street  running  from  Arch 
Street  to  Cherry  Street. 

On  October  21,  1769,  Richard  Boardman  and  Joseph  Pil- 
moor,  missionaries  sent  to  America  by  John  Wesley,  arrived 
in  Philadelphia,  and  not  knowing  that  there  were  any  Meth- 
odists in  the  city,  purposed  making  their  way  immediately  to 
New  York.  But  they  met  a  man  who  had  seen  Mr.  Boardman 
in  Ireland,  and  who  told  them  that,  having  heard  of  the 
arrival  of  two  preachers,  he  was  out  looking  for  them.  He 
informed  them  of  the  little  company  of  ^lethodists  and  intro- 
duced them  to  Captain  Webb.  In  a  day  or  two  Mr.  Board- 
man  went  to  New  York  as  he  had  intended,  while  Mr.  Pil- 
moor  remained  in  Philadelphia.  He  preached  in  the  regular 
place  of  meeting  above  mentioned,  not  only  on  Sabbath  but 
frequently  during  the  week;  frequently  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  He  also  preached  to  immense  congregations  at 
the  race-course,  now  Franklin  Square,  which  at  that  time 
was  considered  to  be  quite  out  of  town.  The  race-course  gave 
Race  Street  its  name.  Large  audiences  gathered  to  hear  him 
preach  in  Potter's  Field,  now  Washington  Square. 

461 


462  THE  Jn^]TIRED  MINISTER 

The  room  in  Loxley's  Court  soon  became  much  too  small 
for  the  constantly  increasing  congregation,  and  more  ample 
accommodations  were  looked  for.  About  tiiis  time  an  unfin- 
ished church  building,  located  on  Fourth  Street  near  Story 
(now  New  Street),  was  sold  at  public  sale.  It  had  been 
erected  by  members  of  the  High  Dutch  Eeformed  Church, 
who,  becoming  financially  embarrassed  in  the  project,  were 
imprisoned  for  debt.  It  is  said  that  some  of  their  friends, 
surprised  at  finding  them  in  prison,  and  asking  for  an  ex- 
planation were  told :  "We  are  in  prison  for  building  a  church.^' 
The  Provincial  Assembly  passed  an  Act  authorizing  the  sale 
of  the  building  in  order  to  satisfy  the  creditors.  While  the 
public  auction  was  in  progress,  a  feeble-minded  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Hockley,  entered  the  room,  and  by  some 
singular  impulse  bid  700  pounds.  This  being  the  highest, 
some  say  the  only  bid,  he  was  declared  to  be  the  buyer.  His 
father,  unwilling  to  reflect  on  his  son  by  taking  legal  meas- 
ures to  show  his  irresponsibility,  paid  the  a.mount  for  which 
it  was  sold,  and  immediately  began  to  inquire  for  a  purchaser. 
Hearing  that  the  Methodists  were  desiring  a  larger  place  of 
worship,  he  offered  to  sell  them  his  newly  purchased  building. 
In  a  day  or  two,  Mr.  Miles  Pennington,  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Society,  bought  it  for  650  pounds.  It  is  said  that  the 
building  had  cost  2,000  pounds.  The  purchase  price  did  not 
include  the  ground,  which  had  been  taken  up  on  an  annual 
ground  rent  of  24  pounds,  redeemable  within  ten  years  by  the 
payment  of  400  pounds.  The  size  of  the  lot  was  the  same  as 
that  now  occupied  by  the  church  and  the  Conference  building 
on  New  Street.  The  church,  which  is  55  by  85,  was  regarded 
as  of  immense  proportions,  and  its  size  was  a  matter  of  com- 
ment everywhere. 

The  Methodists  of  Philadelphia  of  that  period  seem  to 
have  been  quite  prompt  in  their  church  movements.  On 
Thursday,  Nov.  23,  1769,  the  purchase  was  agreed  upon, 
though  the  deed  was  not  delivered  till  some  months  later. 
On  the  next  morning  Mr.  Pilmoor  preached  in  the  church, 
and  dedicated  it  to  the  worship  of  God.  His  text  was  Zech. 
4.  7 :  "Who  art  thou,  0  great  mountain  ?  before  Zerubbabel 
thou  shalt  become  a  plain ;  and  he  shall  bring  forth  the  head 
stone  thereof  with  shoutings,  crying  Grace,  grace  unto  it.'' 
The    feeble    congregation    must    have    had    great   faith    in 


ST.  GEORGE'S  CHURCH  463 

God  to  have  dedicated  the  building  before  having  received 
the  deed,  and  before  having  paid  anything  on  the  property, 
for  there  is  no  record  that  anything  had  been  paid  previous 
to  this  event.  The  owner  of  the  premises  must  have  had  the 
utmost  confidence,  also,  in  the  success  of  this  struggling  band. 
The  first  Sabbath  in  the  new  place  of  worship  was  a  great 
day  to  the  rejoicing  congregation.  Captain  Webb  preached 
in  the  morning  and  Mr.  Pilmoor  in  the  evening.  A  collection 
was  taken  at  the  evening  service  for  the  payment  of  the 
church,  amounting  to  over  16  pounds.  This  was  regarded 
as  a  large  and  generous  offering.  In  a  short  time  a  section 
of  the  room  was  floored  and  provided  with  cheap  benches, 
the  discomfort  of  which  gave  their  occupants  but  little  temp- 
tation to  drowsiness.  The  unfinished  condition  of  the  room 
made  it  difficult  for  the  congregation  to  keep  comfortable  in 
the  winter  season,  and  the  women  were  accustomed  to  bring 
little  "wooden  stoves^^  for  the  feet,  such  as  were  used  in  the 
markets.  Notwithstanding  all  these  inconveniences,  the  Lord 
was  with  His  people  in  a  marvelous  manner  and  added  daily 
to  their  number. 

The  deed  for  the  property,  dated  Sept.  11,  1770,  was  given 
in  the  names  of  Miles  Pennington,  Richard  Boardman,  Joseph 
Pilmoor,  Thomas  Webb,  Edward  Evans,  Daniel  Montgomery, 
John  Dowers,  Edmund  Beach,  Robert  Fitzgerald  and  James 
Emerson.    The  following  is  the  "Trust  clause"  in  the  deed : 

"Nevertheless  upon  special  trust  and  confidence,  and  to  the 
intent  that  they  and  the  survivors  of  them  and  the  trustees 
for  the  time  being,  do  and  shall  permit  John  Wesley,  late  of 
Lincoln  College,  Oxford,  Clerk,  and  such  other  persons  as 
he  from  time  to  time,  and  at  all  times  during  his  natural  life 
shall  appoint,  and  no  other  persons,  to  have  and  enjoy  the  free 
use  and  benefit  of  said  premises,  so  that  the  said  John  Wesley 
and  such  persons  as  he  appoints,  may  therein  preach  and  ex- 
pound God^s  holy  word;  and  after  his  decease,  upon  further 
trust  and  confidence,  and  to  the  intent  that  the  said  trustees 
and  survivors  of  them,  and  the  trustees  for  the  time  being,  do 
and  shall  permit  Charles  Wesley,  late  of  Christ  Church 
College,  Oxford,  Clerk,  and  such  other  persons  as  he  from 
time  to  time,  and  at  all  times  during  his  life  shall  appoint, 
and  no  others,  to  have  and  enjoy  the  free  use  and  benefit  of 
the  said  premises  for  the  purposes  aforesaid. 


464  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

"And  after  the  decease  of  the  survivors  of  them,  the  said 
John  Wesley  and  Charles  Wesley,  then  upon  further  trust 
and  confidence,  and  to  the  intent  that  the  said  Richard 
Boardman  (and  others  mentioned  above)  and  the  survivors 
of  them  and  the  trustees  for  the  time  being,  shall  and  do  from 
time  to  time,  and  at  all  times,  hereafter  forever  permit  such 
persons  as  shall  be  appointed  at  the  Yearly  Conference  of  the 
people  called  Methodists  in  London,  Bristol  and  Leeds,  and 
no  others,  to  have  and  to  enjoy  the  free  use  and  benefit  of  the 
said  premises  for  the  purposes  aforesaid;  provided,  always 
that  the  said  persons  preach  no  other  doctrine  than  is  con- 
tained in  the  said  John  Wesley's  Notes  upon  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  four  volumes  of  sermons.  Provided  also  that  they 
preach  in  the  said  house  in  the  mornings  and  evenings  of 
Sundays  and  of  such  other  days  of  the  week  as  by  custom  of 
the  Methodists,  may  from  time  to  time  be  set  apart  for  that 
purpose.  And  upon  this  further  trust  and  confidence  that  as 
often  as  any  of  them,  the  said  trustees  or  of  the  trustees  for 
the  time  being,  shall  die  or  cease  to  be  a  member  of  the 
Society  commonly  called  Methodists,  the  rest  of  the  said 
trustees  or  of  the  trustees  for  the  time  being,  shall  as  conve- 
niently may  be,  choose  another  trustee  or  trustees  in  order  to 
keep  up  the  number  of  nine  trustees  forever." 

In  1777,  after  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  when  the  British 
Army  occupied  Philadelphia,  the  church  was  used,  for  a  while, 
as  a  hospital  and  afterward  "as  a  riding  schooP'  for  the  cav- 
alry. Long  after  peace  had  been  declared  implements  of  war 
lay  around  the  building.  During  the  Revolutionary  struggle 
the  church  was  greatly  distracted  if  not  demoralized.  The 
building,  which  it  was  thought  had  fallen  so  providentially 
into  the  possession  of  the  needy  society,  was  now  closed 
against  its  members,  and  used  for  military  purposes.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  the  membership  was  reorganized  w4th  about 
forty  or  fifty  persons  and  Ereeborn  Garrettson  w^as  appointed 
preacher  in  charge.  The  building  was  plastered  in  1784, 
fitted  up  with  galleries  in  1790  and  in  1837,  under  the  suc- 
cessful pastorate  of  Charles  Pitman,  was  remodeled,  and  a 
basement  constructed  for  Sabbath  school  and  other  purposes. 
For  several  years  the  edifice  was  not  called  St.  George's,  but 
was  usually  referred  to  by  Mr.  Asbury  as  "our  preaching 
house  in  Philadelphia." 


ST.  GEOEGE'S  CHURCH  465 

Francis  Asbury,  the  first  Methodist  Bishop  ordained  in 
America,  was  always  greatly  interested  in  St.  George's.  He 
attended  services  in  it  on  the  evening  of  the  day  he  arrived  in 
America,  and  preached  his  first  sermon  in  this  country  within 
its  walls.  He  was  its  third  pastor  for  a  period  of  four  months, 
w^hich  was  about  the  limit  of  a  pastorate  at  that  time.  He 
collected  money  for  it  in  different  parts  of  the  country;  in 
1772,  150  pounds,  and  ten  years  later  270  pounds.  Dr.  Coke 
spent  his  first  Sabbath  in  America  in  St.  George's,  preaching 
in  the  evening. 

For  fifty  years  it  was  the  largest  Methodist  church  in 
America,  and  was  regarded  as  the  cathedral  of  our  denomina- 
tion. From  its  distinguished  line  of  pastors,  four  at  least,  have 
been  elected  Bishops:  Francis  Asbury,  Richard  Whatcoat, 
Robert  R.  Roberts  and  Levi  Scott. 

The  first  Methodist  Conference  in  Americq,  was  held  at 
St.  George's,  commencing  July  14,  1773.  The  second  Con- 
ference in  1774,  and  the  third  in  1775,  were  held  in  the  same 
place.  This  building  is  the  oldest  Methodist  church  edifice, 
used  continuously  for  worship,  in  the  world.  City  Road 
Chapel,  London,  was  commenced  April,  1777,  and  opened 
Nov.  1,  1778.  The  present  John  Street  Church,  New  York 
City,  was  erected  in  recent  years. 

No  church  in  this  country  has  dojie  more  for  its  denomina- 
tion than  St.  George's  has  done  for  Methodism.  Revival  fires 
began  to  burn  on  its  altars  on  the  very  day  of  dedication,  and 
for  a  hundred  years  these  altars  were  almost  constantly  filled 
with  penitents.  Multitudes  have  been  converted  within  its 
walls,  among  them  many  of  the  most  stalwart  characters  of 
American  Methodism.  In  a  great  revival  in  the  pastorate  of 
Charles  Pitman,  more  than  1,300  persons  professed  conver- 
sion, from  whom,  it  is  said,  at  least  fifty-five  young  men 
entered  the  itinerant  ministry. 

For  many  years  in  the  early  history  of  Philadelphia  Metli- 
odism,  every  new  Church  of  our  denomination,  with  one  or 
two  exceptions,  was  organized  and  fostered  by  St.  George's. 

For  thirty  years  the  society  has  been  struggling  wnth  down- 
town conditions,  but  is  resolved  to  keep  the  doors  of  the 
old  temple  forever  wdde  open  to  one  of  the  most  needy  com- 
munities to  be  found  in  any  city. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  J.  S.  Hughes. 


46G  THE  PtETIRED  MINISTER 

AN  AGED  GOVERNMENT  PENSIONER 

Thirty  years  ago  the  War  Department  learned  that  there 
was  a  white  mule  named  Mexique,  which  had  been  for  many 
years  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  but  which  had  been 
ordered  sold.  The  officers  of  the  post  desired  permission  to 
purchase  the  animal  and  care  for  it  at  their  own  expense. 

]\Iajor  Giienther  reported  that  the  mule  was  originally  left 
at  Key  West  barracks  in  1848  at  the  close  of  the  war  with 
Mexico.     He  added: 

"During  the  time  that  I  served  at  Key  West  the  mule  did 
not  miss  a  day's  work.  He  is  very  old  and  has  been  worn 
out  by  his  long  service  in  the  quartermaster's  department. 
If  there  is  any  way  to  provide  for  him,  I  should  be  glad  to 
have  it  done." 

The  petition  went  through  the  regular  channels  until  it 
reached  the  Quartermaster  General,  who  indorsed  it  as  fol- 
lows : 

"To  promote  the  sentiment  of  kindness  toward  animals 
that  are  so  intimately  connected  with  military  men,  it  is 
recommended  that  this  mule  be  kept  in  the  department,  and 
left  to  the  care  of  those  whose  kindly  feelings  are  so  deeply 
enlisted  in  its  behalf." 

General  Sherman  submitted  the  case  with  the  following 
report : 

"I  have  seen  the  mule,  and  whether  true  or  not,  the  soldiers 
believe  it  was  left  at  Big  Spring,  the  time  General  Jackson's 
army  encamped  there.  Tradition  says  that  it  was  once  a 
sorrel,  but  now  it  is  white  from  age.  The  quartermaster's 
department  will  be  chargeable  with  ingratitude  if  the  mule 
is  sold  or  the  care  or  maintenance  of  it  throwai  on  the  char- 
itable officers  of  the  post.  I  advise  that  it  be  kept  in  the 
department,  fed  and  maintained  until  death." 

The  Secretary  of  War  thereupon  made  the  following  order : 
''Let  the  mule  he  kept  and  well  cared  for  as  long  as  he  lives/' 


DEFERRED  PAY- 
MENTS TO  VETERAN 
PREACHERS 

THE  REV.  E.  L.  WATSON,  D.D. 

Baltimore  Conference 


The  claim  of  the  Retired  Preacher  is  often  put  on  the 
basis  of  sentiment,  I  prefer  to  put  the  five-million-dollar 
endowment  on  the  ground  of  the  payment  of  a  de])t  long  due 
the  Preacher.  The  figures  can  be  secured  with  sufficient 
accuracy  to  prove  that  a  $5,000,000  fund  Avould  be  but  a 
part  payment  of  what  the  Church  owes  the  Preachers  for 
the  unpaid  salaries  which  have  accrued  during  the  3^ears. 

You  will  find  some  interesting  matters  in  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree's  diary,  which  I  hold  ni  my  hands.  Up  to  1800  he 
was  paid  $64-  a  year;  after  1800,  $80.  This  little  book  shows 
that  in  IT 99  about  one  third  of  his  sixty-four  dollars  was  not 
paid.  When  he  was  given  a  pair  of  socks  he  carefully  charged 
himself  $1.50  to  $1.80  per  pair.  All  such  gifts  were  sub- 
tracted from  his  salary,  so  that  in  that  year  he  had  only  $40 
in  cash,  and  gave  ten  dollars  of  that  to  the  poor,  leaving 
$30  for  the  year.  His  expenses,  exclusive  of  traveling  ex- 
penses, were  fifteen  pounds  ten  and  a  half  pence.  He  was 
serving  the  Church  without  any  net  income  whatsoever. 
When  he  went  on  the  Western  District  in  1800  his  salary 
was  raised  from  $64  to  $80  a  year.  During  the  first  quarter 
he  received  $3,  the  second  quarter,  $2 ;  $20  in  all  for  the  first 
year.  In  1802  the  deficit  was  $36.23  out  of  the  total  salary 
of  $80. 

Deficit 

I  have  gone  over  the  statistics  of  the  Baltimore  Conference, 
and  find  that  during  the  forty-two  years  from  1872  to  1914, 
there  was  a  total  deficiency  in  the  Preachers'  salaries  of  $232,- 
654;  an  average  deficit  of  $5,539  each  year.  I  asked  a 
Baltimore  expert  accountant,  Mr.  Wilmer  Black,  the  son  of 
a  Methodist  Preacher,  to  tell  me  what  would  be  the  present 

467 


468  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

value  of  an  investment  of  five  thousand  dollars  a  year  for 
fifty  years  with  compound  interest,  and  his  figures  were 
$613,827.48.  In  this  calculation  the  deficits  of  seventy-five 
other  years  are  not  included,  and  only  the  support  of  pastors 
is  included;  not  that  of  Presiding  Elders,  Superannuates  or 
Bishops.  Had  all  the  items  been  included  during  the  entire 
history  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  the  total  deficit  would 
have  been  at  least  $2,000,000;  a  sum  which,  if  invested  at 
five  per  cent,  would  give  $100,000  annually  to  be  divided 
among  the  eighty-eight  Conference  Claimants,  or  more  than 
one  thousand  one  hundred  dollars  each. 

This  statement  covers  only  one  Conference.  I  am  told  by  a 
member  of  the  Central  Pennsylvania  Conference  that  their 
deficiencies  exceed  $500,000.  So  in  every  Conference,  espe- 
cially in  the  older  Conferences,  there  are  sufficient  deficiencies 
due  the  preachers  to  make  it  true  beyond  a  doubt  that  the 
1915  CAMPAIGN  is  based  on  equity,  and  that  it  is  not  a 
charity  but  the  tardy  return  to  the  Preachers  to-day  of  what 
was  justly  due  the  fathers.    It  is  the  Veterans'  right. 

AsBURY^s  Last  Pen  Stroke 

I  hold  in  my  hand  a  remarkable  document;  the  last  pen 
stroke  of  the  dying  Asbury,  a  page  from  his  journal,  which 
reads  in  this  fashion: 

Francis  Asbury's  Account  with  the  nine  Annual  Conferences 
for  the  year  1816. 

January  1st,  to  balance  of  1815,  $27.34%. 

1816,  to  my  allowance  for  the  present  year,  $80. 

To  sundries,  while  lying  sick  18  days  in  Cypress,  $13. 

To  allowance  to  J.  W.  Bond  as  traveling  companion,  $20. 

To  cash  paid  to  J.  W.  Bond  for  road  expense,  $7. 

March  21st,  to  cash  J.  W.  Bond,  Quarterage,  $20. 

29th,  to  cash  to  J.  W.  Bond  for  road  expenses,  $10. 

He  died  on  March  31,  1816;  so  that  was  his  last  entry, 
made  only  two  days  before  his  death. 
On  the  debtor  side  we  read. 

By  cash  received  January  1st  from  South  Carolina  Conference, 
$40. 

By  cash  from  the  Virginia  Conference,  $30. 


ASBURTS  LAST  PEN  STROKE  469 

Compounding  the  interest  on  just  this  part  of  Asbury's 
salary  from  January  1st  to  the  close  of  March,  18 IG,  the  total 
indebtedness  would  amount  to  $52,000. 

Hundredth  Anniversary  of  Ashury^s  Death 

I  have  a  suggestion  to  make.  There  is  a  difference  of  opin- 
ion concerning  the  proper  date  for  the  origin  of  American 
Methodism.  In  Baltimore  we  say  that  the  original  meeting 
place  was  in  Maryland,  and  we  are  now  celebrating  the 
Sesqui-Centennial  of  American  Methodism.  But  there  is 
no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  on  March  31,  1916,  will  occur  the 
one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  death  of  Francis  Asbury. 
With  others  who  have  the  historic  spirit  I  have  been  desirous 
that  here  in  Washington  there  should  be  an  equestrian  statue 
of  Francis  Asbury,  with  his  saddlebags,  seated  on  his  gray 
mare.  The  Presbyterians  have  a  statue  of  Witherspoon,  and 
the  Lutherans,  a  statue  of  Martin  Luther.  Was  it  not  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  who  declared  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  the  most  American  in  type  of  any  Protestant 
body?  And  there  is  no  greater  force  making  for  American 
liberty  than  the  Methodism  that  is  represented  in  this  Con- 
vention. A  statue  of  Asbury  on  his  horse,  as  he  was  when 
threading  the  intricacies  of  the  eastern  coast  from  Maine  to 
Florida  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi  would  be 
eminently  fitting — the  payment  of  a  debt  due  to  him  and  to 
the  great  C^hurch  he  created.  The  little  moimment  on  the 
Bishops'  lot  at  Mount  Olivet,  Baltimore,  where  four  Bishops 
lie,  the  humble  shaft  of  marble  reared  there  by  the  Church  of 
the  past  generation,  is  not  a  sufficient  monument  to  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  greatest  religious  factor  in  the  making  of 
America.  The  forces  emanating  from  John  Street  and  Sam's 
Creek  have  had  more  to  do  with  the  spiritual  upbuilding  of 
American  Protestantism  than  those  which  came  from  Plym- 
outh Rock.  It  is  the  Methodist,  and  not  the  Puritan,  who 
has  won  out  in  the  struggle  for  religious  leadership  in  these 
lands;  and  therefore,  recognizing  that  we  owe  him  $53,000 
by  the  accretion  of  the  years,  miglit  we  not  invest  at  least 
that  much  to  his  memory  and  to  spur  the  Church  to  Christly 
sacrifice  ? 

While  we  are  doing  this  may  we  not  bring  the  1915  CAM- 


470  TTTE  EETIEED  MTXTSTEK 

PAIGN  to  a  triumphant  climax  on  March  31,  191G,  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  death  of  this,  the  greatest  of 
American  Preachers!  For  the  largest  factor  in  the  conserv- 
ing of  the  itinerancy,  the  greatest  force  in  pushing  the 
Preacher  from  the  city  into  the  rural  districts,  was  Francis 
Asbury.  The  movement  for  the  conservation  of  rural  life,  in 
many  respects  the  greatest  movement  of  our  times,  must  date 
from  this  great  prophet  who,  seeing  that  the  salvation  of 
Methodism  and  the  evangelization  of  the  continent  was  in 
the  conquest  of  the  country,  provided  for  the  coming  of 
the  itinerant  Ministry.  We  never  can  pay  the  debt  we  owe 
him,  but  this  recognition  of  debt  cannot  be  given  too  soon. 
AVhy  should  not  this  great  Convention,  greater  in  its  wider 
meaning  beyond  the  walls  of  this  building  even  than  within 
them,  determine  that  the  time  when  we  shall  bring  to  a  fitting 
climax  this  ten-million-dollar  campaign  and  bring  honors  to 
his  name  who  has  been  so  little  honored,  shall  be  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  immortal  Asbury  ? 
Baltimore,  Md.  E.  L.  Watso^-. 

DISCIPLINARY  PROVISIONS  FOR 

SUPPORT  OF  CONFERENCE  CLAIMANTS 

IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH 

Legislation  for  Conference  Claimants;  Including  Re- 
tired Ministers,  and  Widows  and  Dependent 
Orphans 

The  paragraphs  are  those  of  the  Discipline. 

I.  The  Claim  (Tf  323) 

The  claim  to  a  comfortable  support  inheres  in  the  Gospel 
Ministry  and  rightfully  inures  to  the  benefit  of  the  Preacher 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  when  he  is  admitted 
to  membership  in  an  Annual  Conference.  Such  claim  is  not 
invalidated  by  his  being  retired,  and  at  his  death  passes  to 
the  dependent  members  of  his  family. 

Retired  Ministers,  the  widows  of  deceased  Ministers  (dur- 
ing their  widowhood,  and  while  they  remain  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church),  and  their  children  under  six- 


METHODIST  LEGISLATION  471 

teen  years  of  age,  are  Conference  Claimants  and  beneficiaries 
of  the  moneys  hereinafter  provided.  For  a  year  at  a  time 
and  without  prejudice  to  their  rights,  such  Claimants  may 
voluntarily  relinquish  their  claim;  or  on  recommendation  of 
the  Conference  Stewards  the  claim  may  be  disallowed  by 
action  of  the  Annual  Conference,  taken  after  opportunity  to 
be  heard  has  been  given. 

II.  Permanent  Endowment  (^f  324) 

Moneys  for  the  permanent  endowment  of  the  Conference 
Claimants  of  the  entire  Church  shall  be  held  by  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants  located  at  Chicago,  Illinois,  and 
shall  be  administered  through  its  Connectional  Permanent 
Fund.  The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  shall  also  ad- 
minister all  gifts  and  bequests  the  custody  of  which  is  not 
otherwise  designated,  the  income  of  which  is  intended  for 
the  use  of  Conference  Claimants. 

Annual  Conferences  are  authorized  to  establish  and  main- 
tain investment  Funds,  Preachers'  Aid  Societies,  and  or- 
ganizations and  funds  of  similar  character,  under  such  names, 
plans,  rules,  and  regulations  as  they  may  determine,  the  in- 
come from  which  shall  be  applied  for  the  support  of  Con- 
ference Claimants.  It  is  recommended  that  each  Annual 
Conference  provide  for  an  incorporated  Board  to  administer 
its  permanent  funds. 

III.  Conference  Stewards  (1[  329) 

Each  Annual  Conference  shall  elect  Conference  Stewards, 
who  may  be  either  preachers  or  laymen,  arranged  in  classes 
so  that  one  third  of  the  members  shall  be  elected  each  year. 

The  Conference  Stewards  shall  ascertain  what  Claimants 
are  in  special  need  (that  is,  whose  needs  require  more  than 
can  he  paid  to  them  from  the  Anmiity  Distribution)  and, 
using  as  a  general  basis  the  estimates  received  from  the  Quar- 
terly Conferences  and  other  available  information,  shall  make 
an  equitable  allowance  to  them,  which  shall  be  paid  pro  rata 
from  moneys  available  for  that  purpose. 

Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Annual  Conference,  the 
Conference  Stewards  may  consider  and  act  upon  any  claim 
which  the  Quarterly  Conference  may  have  overlooked. 

Each  Annual  Conference  shall  determine  whetlier  or  not  its 
Conference  Stewards  shall  make  a  preliminary  report;  and. 


4:72  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

if  so,  whether  or  not  it  shall  he  read  in  open  Conference  or 
the  action  of  the  Conference  Stewards  he  final. 

An  Annual  Conference  shall  have  authority  to  recognize  as 
Claimants  the  widow  and  minor  children  of  a  former  mem- 
ber, by  agreement  with  the  Conference  of  which  he  was  a 
member  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

IV.  Methods  of  Distribution  (fl  330-333) 

1.  The  Annual  Conference  Annuity  Distribution 
shall  be  made  to  Conference  Claimants  by  the  Conference 
Stewards  according  to  the  following  regulations : 

The  annuity  claim  of  a  Retired  Minister  who  has  been  in 
the  effective  relation  for  thirty-five  years  as  a  member  of  an 
Annual  Conference  shall  not  be  less  than  one  half  of  the 
average  annual  salary  paid  to  the  effective  members  of  his 
Annual  Conference,  House  Rent  excluded. 

The  annuity  claim  of  any  Retired  Minister,  determined  by 
this  standard,  shall  not  be  less  than  one  seventieth  (1-70)  of 
the  average  salary  of  the  effective  members  of  his  Conference 
multiplied  by  the  number  of  years  of  his  effective  service,  in- 
cluding two  years  on  trial. 

The  annuity  claim  of  a  widow  shall  be  determined  by  the 
number  of  years  during  which  she  was  the  wife  of  a  preacher 
while  he  was  in  the  effective  relation,  as  a  member  of  an  An- 
nual Conference,  and  shall  be  one  half  of  the  annuity  claim 
.  of  a  Retired  Minister  for  such  term  of  years. 

The  term  of  a  father's  effective  service  shall  determine  the 
annuity  claim  of  his  child,  which  shall  be  one  fifth  of  the 
claim  of  a  Retired  Minister  for  such  term. 

Moneys  designated  for  Annuity  Distribution  shall  be  dis- 
tributed on  the  BASIS  OF  SERVICE,  and  shall  consist  of: 

(1)  The  dividends  of  the  Book  Concern  and  the  Chartered 
Fund. 

(2)  The  income  from  any  investments  made  by  the  Annual 
Conference  for  Annuity  Distribution  and  held  in  trust  for 
this  purpose. 

(3)  Such  gifts  and  bequests  as  are  made  for  Annuity  Dis- 
tribution. 

(4)  Such  part  of  the  annual  support  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants furnished  by  the  pastoral  charges  as  the  Annual  Con- 
ference may  determine. 


METHODIST  LEGISLATION  473 

2.  The  Annual  Conference  Necessitous  Distribu- 
tion Shall  be 
on  the  BASIS  OF  SPECIAL  NEED,  and  shall  consist  of: 

(1)  The  annual  Dividend  for  Connectional  Eelief  paid  to 
the  Annual  Conference  by  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants. 

(2)  Such  part  of  the  support  of  Conference  Claimants 
furnished  by  the  Pastoral  Charges,  as  the  Annual  Conference 
may  determine. 

(3)  The  income  from  such  gifts  and  bequests  as  are  made 
for  necessitous  distribution. 

(4)  Gifts  and  bequests  made  for  immediate  distribution. 

(5)  Income  arising  from  investments  made  by  Belief  and 
Aid  Societies  of  Annual  Conferences,  if  so  determined  by 
them. 

3.  Connectional  Relief  Distribution  Shall  be 
to  Annual  Conferences  by  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants. 

Board  of  Conference  Claimants  (TUf  469-473) 
1.  Authorization  and  Officers 

There  shall  be  a  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  nominated 
by  the  Bishops  and  elected  by  the  General  Conference,  con- 
sisting of  one  effective  Bishop,  seven  Ministers,  and  seven 
Laymen.  No  Annual  Conference  shall  have  more  than  one 
representative  on  the  Board. 

The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  shall  be  duly  and 
legall}^  incorporated,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  with  such  powers  and  prerogatives  as  shall  be  needful 
for  the  accomplishing  of  the  objects  of  the  Board  as  herein 
stated.  This  Board  is  authorized  to  adopt  such  measures 
as  in  its  judgment  are  necessary  to  build  up  and  administer 
a  Connectional  Permanent  Fund  which  is  hereby  established, 
and  to  increase  the  revenues  for  the  benefit  of  Conference 
Claimants,  provided,  however,  that  it  shall  not  have  authority 
to  make  any  apportionment  whatever,  either  to  the  Annual 
Conferences  or  to  the  pastoral  charges.  Seven  members  shall 
constitute  a  quorum.  The  office  of  the  Board  shall  be  in 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

The  expenses  of  administration  shall  be  taken  from  the  two 
per  cent  of  collections  from  Pastoral  charges,  and  any  other 
funds  in  the  hands  of  the  Board  not  otherwise  designated. 


474  THE  KETIEED  MINISTER 

The  term  of  service  of  the  members  of  this  Board  sliall  be 
four  years,  or  until  their  successors  are  duly  elected  and  qual- 
ified. Vacancies  occurring  during  the  interval  of  the  General 
Conference  shall  be  filled  by  the  Board  upon  nomination  by 
the  Bishops. 

II.  Corresponding  Secretary 

There  shall  be  a  Corresponding  Secretary  who  shall  be 
elected  by  the  General  Conference,  and  shall  be  the  chief  ex- 
ecutive officer  of  the  Board.  Under  the  provisions  of  the 
Discipline  and  the  authority,  direction,  and  control  of  the 
Boards  of  which  he  shall  be  an  advisory  member,  he  shall 
conduct  the  correspondence  and  business.  His  time  shall  be 
employed  in  conducting  the  affairs  and  promoting  the  general 
interests  for  which  the  Board  was  created. 

III.    CONNECTIONAL    EeLIEF 

Connectional  Relief  for  Conference  Claimants  is  established 
that  the  Preachers  and  people  of  the  stronger  Annual  Con- 
ferences may  be  united  with  those  of  the  weaker  Conferences 
in  one  connectional  or  general  plan  in  order  that,  by  such 
cooperation,  a  more  equitable  and  general  support  may  be 
secured  for  Retired  Ministers  and  other  Conference  Claim- 
ants, especially  for  those  in  the  more  needy  Conferences. 

Such  Connectional  Relief  shall  consist  of: 

(1)  The  three  per  cent  of  the  annual  collections  for  Con- 
ference Claimants  forwarded  from  the  Annual  Conferences. 

(2)  The  income  from  all  other  sources  the  use  of  which  is 
not  otherwise  designated  and  which  is  not  required  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  Board. 

]\Ioneys  for  Connectional  Relief  shall  be  distributed  by  the 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants  at  its  Annual  Meeting,  to 
the  Annual  Conferences  severally  and  not  to  the  individual 
claimant. 

The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  in  determining  the 
Dividend  for  Connectional  Relief,  shall  ascertain  from  the 
authorized  reports  of  the  Conference  Stewards  of  the  several 
Annual  Conferences  what  Conferences  are  in  need  of  Connec- 
tional Relief,  and  shall  make  the  distribution  to  such  Con- 
ferences according  to  their  need  as  this  shall  appear  from  such 
reports. 


METHODIST  LEOISLATTOK  475 

The  Remainder  of  the  available  funds  shall  be  distributed 
among  the  other  Conferences  as  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  may  determine  to  be  wise  and  eqiiital)lc  in  view 
of  all  the  data  in  its  possession. 

Xo  (Conference  shall  receive  Connectional  J\'elief  unless  its 
share  of  the  annual  collections  shall  have  been  j)aid  into  the 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants. 

IV.  Reports 

The  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  shall 
send  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Annual  Conference  a  draft  for 
the  Dividend  for  Connectional  Relief,  together  with  the  last 
Annual  Report  of  the  Board;  in  which  shall  be  shown  the 
resources  of  the  Board,  the  amount  and  distribution  of  its 
income,  and  such  other  information  concerning  the  work  of 
the  Church  in  behalf  of  Conference  Claimants  as  the  Board 
may  obtain. 

The  Conference  Stewards  shall  forward  to  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  a  certified  copy  of  their  Report,  made 
on  blanks  furnished  by  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants, 
in  which  shall  be  shown  the  annuities  and  allowances  made 
to  each  Conference  Claimant,  together  with  additional  data 
for  the  guidance  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  in 
making  its  Dividend  for  Connectional  Relief  and  in  pre- 
paring its  Annual  Report. 


STEEL  PENSIOXERS  GOT  $511,967  IX  1914 

The  fourth  annual  report  of  the  United  States  Steel  and 
Carnegie  Pension  Fund  shows  the  total  disbursements  for 
the  year  were  $511,9G7,  as  compared  with  $422,815  in  1913, 
$358,780  in  1912,  and  $281,457  in  1911,  making  a  grand 
total  of  $1,575,021  for  the  four  years. 

The  greatest  disbursement  was  at  the  plants  of  the  Carnegie 
Steel  Company,  where  $122,914  were  distributed.  During 
the  year  2,704  employees  were  on  the  pension  list,  an  increase 
of  612  during  tlie  year.  During  the  year  183  cases  were  dis- 
continued, so  that  on  December  31,  2,521  remained  on  the 
rolls. 

The  averages  for  cases  added  during  1914  were:  Age 
63.33  years;  service,  28.76  years;  monthly  pension,  $20.40. 


ANNUAL  CONFERENCE  REPRESENTATIVES 
H.  L.  Jacobs  J.  S.  Hughes  L.  O.  Sherburne 

W.  H.  Hughes  Elwin  Hitchcock  W.  L.  Slease 


VETERANS  OF  THE  MINNESOTA  CONFERENCE 

Wm.  McKini.ey,  W.  C.  Rice,  Henry  Bilbie,  W.  K.  Marshall,  E,  R.  Lathrop,  E.  H.  Bronson 


A  RETIRING  COMPETENCY  FOR  THE 
RETIRED  MINISTER 


PART  IV 
THE  CLAIM  ILLUSTRATED 

FACT,  STORY,  SONG 

Fact,  Story  and  Song  illustrate  the  Struggles, 
Triumphs  and  Needs  of  the  Veteran  Ministers 
and  make  a  large  appeal  to  all.  The  Scriptures 
state  the  Relationships  underlying  the  Principle 
of  a  Retiring  Competency  for  the  Aged  Servants 
of  .God  and  His  Church;  the  Press,  both  secular 
and  religious,  demands  the  Recognition  of  their 
Services,  while  The  Story  of  their  Devotion  lends 
itself  readily  to  Sentiments  expressed  in  Poetry 
and  Song. 

CHAPTER  I.     SCRIPTURAL  TREATMENT 

PAGE 

The  Old  Arab  Priest 478 

L  Helpful  Homiletic  Hints Sweets 479 

2.  Modern  Psalms Foulkes 501 


THE  OLD  AEAB  PRIEST  AND  THE  OLD  PREACHER 
Rev.  J.  D.  Maddox,  M.D. 

An  aged  Arab  priest  who  had  ridden  with  his  people  over 
rocks  and  burning  sands  in  search  of  pasture  and  water  for 
fourscore  years  is  about  to  take  his  last  ride.  See  him, 
with  form  still  erect,  leaning  on  his  staff,  his  hair  and  beard 
white  as  snow.  He  stands  apart  turning  his  eyes,  dim  with 
age,  toward  the  shoreless  desert  and  the  rising  sun.  His 
Arabian  steed,  with  heavy  flowing  mane  and  tail  clean  and 
white  as  linen,  seems  to  know  that  some  bereavement  has 
come  into  his  life. 

Do  you  see  that  group  of  men  standing  at  a  distance  in 
earnest  conference?  The  old  man  knows  what  it  means. 
Having  grown  old  to  the  point  ^of  helplessness  and  dependence 
he  knows  that  he  must  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  ancient 
custom  of  his  people.  The  lots  are  cast  and  two  men  with- 
draw and  saddle  their  steeds.  Another  saddles  the  beautiful 
steed  of  the  old  man  who  sadly  but  silently  yields  to  their 
ministrations.  They  bathe  him  after  their  manner,  and  put 
on  him  clean  apparel.  All  others  have  disappeared  in  their 
tents.  The  old  man  is  silently  and  gently  lifted  into  the 
saddle  and  those  who  drew  the  lots  ride  up,  one  on  either  side 
of  him.  Without  parley  or  "good-bys,"  at  once  and  in  silence, 
the  three  ride  straight  into  the  desert,  from  "early  morn 
till  high  noon."    Then  as  if  by  appointment  they  stop. 

The  attendants  dismount  and  gently  lift  the  old  man  from 
his  steed,  and  spreading  a  beautifully  colored  cloth  on  the 
sand,  lay  the  old  man  not  unlovingly  upon  it.  Leaving  him 
a  crust  and  a  bone,  they  take  his  staff,  mount  their  steeds  in 
silence,  take  the  leading-strap  of  the  old  man's  steed  and 
ride  back  to  the  camp.     No  questions  were  asked. 

I  had  thought  of  making  an  application  of  this  story.  But 
T  cannot,  it  is  too  suggestive;  and  it  makes  its  own  applica- 
tion.   I  need  not. 


HELPFUL  HOMILETIC  HINTS 

THE  REV.  HENRY  H.  SWEETS 

Secretary  Ministerial  Relief,  Louisville,  Ky. 


I 

Deut.  10.  8,  9.  At  that  time  the  Lord  separated  the  tribe  of 
Levi,  to  bear  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord,  to  stand  be- 
fore the  Lord  to  minister  unto  him,  and  to  bless  in  his  name, 
unto  this  day.  Wherefore  Levi  hath  no  part  nor  inheritance 
with  his  brethren;  the  Lord  is  his  inheritance,  according  as  the 
Lord  thy  God  promised  him. 

The  Hebrew  economy  was  in  advance  of  anything  that  has 
thus  far  characterized  tiie  Christian  Church.  The  Levites, 
set  apart  to  the  service  of  the  sanctuary,  were  provided  for 
on  a  magnificent  scale.  Having  no  proper  inheritance  among 
the  Children  of  Israel,  they  nevertheless  were  assured  from 
any  possible  want  from  cradle  to  grave,  and  their  widows 
and  orphans  after  them.  The  abundant  tithes  and  offerings, 
the  levitical  cities  and  their  suburbs,  and  the  sacredness  of 
their  calling,  assured  to  all  those  who  stood  before  the  Lord 
to  minister  to  him,  the  most  ample,  continuous  and  unfailing 
supply  of  all  their  wants. — Rev.  Artliur  Pierson,  D.D. 

The  Assembly  believes  that  of  all  the  duties,  not  to  say 
privileges  belonging  to  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  there  is 
none  more  sacred  and  tender  than  that  of  making  suitable 
provision  for  those  who  have  worn  themselves  out  in  her 
service,  and  for  the  lonely,  dependent  ones  who  have  been 
left  without  any  means  of  support. 

II 

Num.  18.  24.  But  the  tithes  of  the  children  of  Israel,  which 
they  offer  as  an  heave  offering  unto  the  Lord,  I  have  given  to 
the  Levites  to  inherit:  therefore  I  have  said  unto  them,  among 
the  children  of  Israel  they  shall  have  no  inheritance. 

The  veteran  is  entitled  to  rest,  even  when   liis  strength 

479 


480  THE  RETIRED  MUSTISTER 

remains.      The   tenderest   of   care   should   be   his   when   his 
strength  has  gone  with  his  years. 

It  is  the  duty  and  responsibility  of  the  Church  quite  as 
much  to  look  after  the  workers  as  the  work ;  and  its  work  will 
be  better  done  if  it  does  look  after  the  worker.  There  is  not 
a  man  living  who  will  not  throw  himself  more  heartily  into 
the  work,  no  matter  how  hard  and  difficult  it  is,  or  how  poor 
the  place,  if  he  feels  that  behind  him  is  the  help  of  the 
Church  when  he  is  wounded  or  falls  by  the  wayside. — Dr, 
Alfred  J.  P.  McClure. 

Ill 

Num.  35.  2.  Command  the  children  of  Israel,  that  they  give 
unto  the  Levites  of  the  inheritance  of  their  possession  cities  to 
dwell  in;  and  ye  shall  give  also  unto  the  Levites  suburbs  for  the 
cities  around  about  them. 

There  are  men  who  see  to  it  that  even  the  aged,  worn-out 
beast  of  burden  is  provided  for.  Shall  we  be  found  less  con- 
siderate of  human  beings? 

The  ministry  may  not  contribute  directly  to  the  creation 
of  wealth,  but  they  do  render  society  service  absolutely  invalu- 
able. The  pay  is  contemptibly  inadequate.  Seven  hundred 
dollars  was  the  sum  which  a  church  in  Philadelphia  recently 
thought  ample  for  a  faithful  pastor  to  live  and  keep  a  family 
on  a  year,  and  even  that  is  considerably  above  the  average 
salary.  The  Bishop  was  right  when  he  imputed  to  the  dreary 
outlook  for  old  age  the  disinclination  of  young  men  to  enter 
the  ministry. — The  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

IV 

Deut.  12.  19.  Take  heed  to  thyself  that  thou  forsake  not  the 
Levite  as  long  as  thou  livest  upon  the  earth. 

Shall  we  pension  the  soldier,  and  fail  to  provide  for  the 
preacher  ? 

On  June  30,  1914,  there  were  on  the  pension  rolls  of  the 
United  States  785,239  army  and  navy  pensioners.  To  these 
the  sum  of  $172,417,546  was  paid  in  one  year.  Since  1866 
$4,633,511,926  has  been  paid  to  pensioners. 

The  cause  of  Ministerial  Relief  has  languished  for  many 
years  because  our  ministers  have  been  modestly  reticent. 


HOMILETIC  HINTS  481 

This  is  not  begging;  it  is  counsel  to  do  right,  counsel  that 
the  people  need,  counsel  for  the  lack  of  which  the  Church 
is  daily  forfeiting  the  precious  blessings  of  duty  done.  Shake 
off  your  false  modesty.  Help  the  Church  to  do  right.  You 
know  that  many  of  your  aged  brethren  are  suffering  through 
a  neglect  for  which  the  people  are  not  responsible,  since  they 
do  not  know  the  facts.  It  is  in  your  power  to  make  the  facts 
known.  Therefore,  take  these  words  to  heart :  "Who  so  seeth 
his  brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  compassion  from 
him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him?" — Dr.  Fulton. 

V 

Deut.  14.  27.  And  the  Levite  that  is  within  thy  gates;  thou 
Shalt  not  forsake  him;  for  he  hath  no  part  nor  inheritance  with 
thee. 

Queen  Elizabeth  requested  a  merchant  to  go  abroad  on  her 
service,  and  when  he  mentioned  that  his  own  business  would 
be  ruined,  she  replied,  "You  mind  my  business  and  I  will 
mind  yours." 

When  the  Church  ordains  a  man  to  the  Gospel  Ministry, 
she  says  to  him,  "You  minister  to  us  in  spiritual  things  and 
we  wnll  care  for  you  in  material  things."  This  is  the  day  of 
opportunity.  If  the  Church  does  not  act  promptly,  not  only 
will  the  cause  of  Ministerial  Eelief  suffer,  but  also  the  supply 
of  candidates  for  the  ministry  will  be  seriously  affected.  If 
the  father  lies  wounded  on  the  field  of  battle  uncared  for,  can 
we  expect  the  son  to  fill  his  place  in  the  depleted  ranks  of 
the  regiment? — General  Assembly . 

VI 
1  Cor.  9.  13,  14.  Do  ye  not  know  that  they  which  minister 
about  holy  things  live  of  the  things  of  the  temple?  And  they 
which  wait  at  the  altar  are  partakers  with  the  altar?  Even  so 
hath  the  Lord  ordained  that  they  which  preach  the  gospel  should 
live  of  the  gospel. 

We  believe  God  never  meant  the  place  of  a  minister  to  be 
ordinarily  one  of  ample  means  or  elegant  luxury ;  but  He  does 
mean  that  no  minister  should  be  entangled  in  affairs  of  this 
life ;  and  to  prevent  this,  it  is  more  important  than  any  other 
one  thing  to  assure  every  servant  of  God  that,  whatever  self- 
denial  may  be  incident  to  the  days  of  his  actual  and  active 


482  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

labor,  when  the  day  of  work  is  over  he  shall  not  suffer  want 
for  the  necessities  of  life;  or,  if  prematurely  called  hence, 
shall  not  leave  a  wife  and  children  to  be  cast  on  the  charity  of 
the  very  Church  he  has  self-denyingly  served. — Dr.  Pierson. 

The  spirit  of  Christianity  is  beginning  to  permeate  the 
national  industrial,  fraternal  and  educational  circles  of  the 
world.  Benefits,  annuities  and  pensions  are  being  provided 
on  every  hand.  Some  one  has  said:  "The  Church  of  God 
is  disloyal  to  Christ  and  unfaithful,  when  she  does  not  prac- 
tice, among  her  own,  the  gospel  she  preaches." 

VII 

1  Tim.  5.  18,  For  the  Scripture  saith,  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle 
the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn.  And,  The  laborer  is  worthy 
of  his  reward. 

Lewis  Elkin  left  one  million,  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  for  pensioning  the  school  teachers  of  Phila- 
delphia.   It  is  called  the  Elkin  Relief  Fund. 

It  is  an  insult  to  call  this  charity ;  it  is  in  the  very  highest 
sense  a  debt,  and  should  be  so  honored  as  an  imperative  obli- 
gation owed  to  those  who  use  their  days  of  strength  in  the 
service  of  our  Lord;  and  no  blessing  can  be  expected  on  a 
Church  which  allows  the  veteran  soldier  of  Christ  to  go  down 
to  his  grave  like  an  inmate  of  a  poor-house,  or  a  dependent 
on  charity,  looking  for  a  miser'able  pittance  bestowed  as  on  a 
beggar,  for  the  bare  subsistence  of  life. — Dr.  Pierson. 

Many  a  man  of  the  world  would  provide  for  a  faithful  old 
dog  or  the  family  horse  better  than  the  churches  provide  for 
those  who  have  served  their  Master  and  humanity  faithfully 
until  infirmity  beset  them. — Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

VIII 
1  Cor.  9.  7-10.  Who  goeth  a  warfare  any  time  at  his  own 
charges?  Who  planteth  a  vineyard,  and  eateth  not  of  the  fruit 
thereof?  or  who  feedeth  a  flock,  and  eateth  not  of  the  milk  of  the 
flock?  Say  I  these  things  as  a  man?  or  saith  not  the  law  the 
same  also?  For  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  Thou  shalt  not 
muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn.  Doth 
God  take  care  for  oxen?  Or  saith  he  it  altogether  for  our  sakes? 
For  our  sakes,  no  doubt,  this  is  written;  that  he  that  ploweth 
should  plow  in  hope;  and  that  he  that  thresheth  in  hope  should 
be  partaker  of  his  hope. 

"Doth  God  take  thought  for  oxen?"     Shall  He  not  take 


HOMILETIC  HINTS  483 

thought  for  these  servants,  who  have  toiled  in  the  field  through 
the  noon-tide  heat,  as  oxen  toil  in  the  furrow?  Surely  God 
must  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  His  people  to  do  something 
toward  the  fund  that  pathetically  describes  itself  for  the  relief 
of  aged  pastors. — Margaret  E.  Sangster. 

Eev.  J.  W.  Wallace  said  before  his  death,  "When  I  came 
out  from  Kentucky  I  brought  a  good  horse.  He  served  me 
faithfully  many  years  as  a  'family  horse.'  When  he  got  to 
be  twenty  years  old,  I  fenced  off  a  ten-acre  lot  of  the  best  blue 
grass  in  Jackson  county j,  I  said :  'No  matter  how  much 
drought  111  never  let  any  stock  in  old  Jake's  preserves.' " 
The  night  old  Jake  died,  he  sat  up  all  night  with  him. 

IX 

1  Sam.  30.  23,  24.  Then  said  David,  Ye  shall  not  do  so,  my 
brethren,  with  that  which  the  Lord  hath  given  us,  who  hath 
preserved  us,  and  delivered  the  company  that  came  against  us 
into  our  hand.  For  who  will  hearken  unto  you  in  this  matter? 
But  as  his  part  is  that  goeth  down  to  the  battle,  so  shall  his 
part  be  that  tarrieth  by  the  stuff;   they  shall  part  alike. 

Taught  by  time,  my  heart  has  learned  to  glow 
For  others'  good,  and  melted  others'  woe. — Homer. 

Who  shall  have  the  spoils?  Well,  some  selfish  soul  suggests 
that  those  treasures  ought  to  belong  to  those  who  had  been 
out  in  active  service.  "We  did  all  the  fighting,  and  we  ought 
to  have  all  the  treasures."  But  David  looked  into  the  worn 
faces  of  these  veterans  who  had  stayed  in  the  garrison,  and 
saw  how  cleanly  everything  had  been  kept,  and  that  the  bag- 
gage was  all  safe;  and  knew  how  that  these  aged,  wounded 
and  crippled  men  would  gladly  enough  have  been  at  the  front 
if  they  had  been  able,  and  said:  "No!  no!  Let  us  have  fair 
play;  'As  his  part  is  that  goeth  down  to  the  battle,  so  shall 
his  part  be  that  tarrieth  by  the  stuff.' " 

There  is  high  encouragement  for  those  who  once  wrought 
mightily  for  Christ  and  the  Church,  but  who  through  sickness 
or  collapse  of  fortune  or  advanced  years  cannot  now  go  to 
the  front.  These  two  hundred  men  of  the  text  were  veterans. 
Let  that  man  bare  his  arms  and  show  how  the  muscles  were 
torn.  Let  him  pull  aside  the  turban  and  see  the  mark  of 
the  battle  ax.     Pull  aside  the  coat  and  see  where  the  spear 


484  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

thrust  him.    Would  it  have  been  fair  for  those  men,  crippled, 
weak  and  old,  to  have  no  share  in  the  triumph  ? — Talmage. 


Prov.  3.  27.  Withhold  not  good  from  them  to  whom  it  is  due, 
when  it  is  in  the  power  of  thine  hand  to  do  it. 

To  neglect  any  one  who  needs  our  help  is  to  neglect  Christ 
Himself.—/.  R.  Miller,  D.D. 

What  do  we  live  for  if  it  is  not  to  make  life  less  difficult  for 
each  other? — George  Eliot. 

Cornell  University  has  a  retiring  pension  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  for  its  professors. 

Withhold  all  eulogies  when  I  am  dead, 

All  noisy  sorrow; 
Give  me  the  tender  word  to-day 

Instead  of  tears  to-morrow. 

XI 

1  Tim.  5.  8.  But  if  any  provide  not  for  his  own,  and  spe- 
cially for  those  of  his  own  house,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and 
is  worse  than  an  infidel. 

Germany,  Denmark,  New  Zealand  and  some  other  countries 
have  pension  systems  for  working  men,  of  advanced  years  and 
good  moral  character. 

The  Church  must  face  and  solve  the  problem  of  proper 
pension  and  care  for  its  disabled  and  superannuated  ministry. 
Justice  and  Christianity  both  demand  it.  To  leave  the  aged 
workers  to  humiliation  and  distress  and  poverty  is  unchristian 
and  unwise. 

The  man  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  who  brings  five,  twenty, 
or  one  hundred  dollars  to  the  altar  of  God,  and  says,  "This 
is  all  I  have  to  spare,"  lies  to  God,  as  Ananias  never  did. 
Tens  of  thousands  are  living  in  luxury,  spending  money  for 
vanity  and  pride,  gluttony  and  sensuality,  submitting  a  mere 
bagatelle  to  the  use  of  the  Holy  Spirit. — Bishop  A.  W.  Wilson. 

XII 

Gal.  6.  10.  As  we  have  therefore  opportunity,  let  us  do  good 
unto  all  men,  especially  unto  them  who  are  of  the  household  Of 
faith. 


HOMILETIC  HINTS  485 

The  measure  of  a  gift  is  in  what  is  kept. — Alexander  Mc- 
Kenzie,  D.D. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  guarantees  to  its  old  priests 
six  hundred  dollars  annually. 

Faithful  soldiers  are  falling  by  the  way,  overcome  by  the 
burden  and  the  heat  of  the  day.  Some  linger  a  little  while. 
They  need  our  brotherly  sympathy  and  help.  Others  have 
fallen  to  rise  no  more  until  the  bright  morning;  but  their 
dependent  ones  call  for  our  tenderest  care. — Dr.  Agneiu. 

Help   us  to  help   each  other,  Lord, 

Each  other's  cross  to  bear; 
Let  each  his  friendly  aid  afford, 

And  feel  his  brother's  care. 

XITI 
1  Cor.  16.  1,  2.  Now  concerning  the  collection  for  the  saints, 
as  I  have  given  order  to  the  churches  of  Galatia,  even  so  do  ye. 
Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him 
in  store,  as  God  has  prospered  him,  that  there  be  no  gatherings 
when  I  come. 

God  sees  to  it  that  the  cheerful  giver  never  has  to  go  out  of 
business  for  lack  of  capital. — The  Ram's  Horn. 

There  is  a  Carnegie  Eelief  Fund  which  applies  to  all  the 
Carnegie  iron  interests  for  pensions  and  relief  of  iron  workers. 
It  disbursed  over  $250,000  in  1904. 

1  bring  before  you  the  small  army  of  aged  ministers.  Do 
you  see  them  ?  Their  hair  is  thin  and  silvery ;  their  faces  are 
furrowed  and  their  forms  bent;  they  are  feeble.  Leaning 
upon  some  strong  arm,  each  one  goes  forward,  tottering. 
Soon  they  will  be  beyond  our  help.  But  they  are  here  now. 
We  see  their  hands  clasped  in  holy  prayer;  we  hear  their 
tremulous  voices  as  in  union  they  cry  out,  "Cast  us  not  oif  in 
time  of  old  age  !"  That  prayer  ascends  to  heaven ;  it  reaches 
the  ears  of  the  Almighty,  who  at  once  sends  it  back  to  us 
and  bids  us  answer  it.  We  are  to  take  the  Lord's  place  and 
provide  for  these  faithful  old  servants. — Dr.  Peter  Stryker. 

XIV 

2  Cor.  8.  13,  14.  For  I  mean  not  that  other  men  be  eased,  and 
ye  burdened;  but  by  an  equality,  that  now  at  this  time  your 
abundance  may  be  a  supply  for  their  want,  that  their  abundance 
also  may  be  a  supply  for  your  want;  that  there  may  be  equality. 


486  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

Every  Christian  should  lal)cl  his  pocketbook  with  the  words 
of  the  Lord's  lease,  ''Occupy  till  I  come." 

Andrew  Carnegie  has  given  ten  million  dollars  for  the  pen- 
sioning of  old  professors  and  teachers  in  the  colleges  and 
schools  of  the  United  States. 

Do  you  realize  that  there  are  aged  and  enfeebled  ministers, 
who  have  broken  down  in  the  service  of  Christ  and  your 
Cliurch,  refined,  patient,  j^odly  men  who  are  inadequately 
supplied  with  life's  necessities,  or  w^holly  unprovided  for  now, 
to-day,  at  this  present  time;  while  thousands  of  dollars  are 
being  given  to  ol)jects  very  remotely  related  to  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  or  to  charities  which  are  often  unappreciated,  and 
which  accomplish  little  good.  Some  one  has  said,  "This  is 
a  perversion  of  a  Christian  idea.  It  is  the  Cliurch  neglecting 
to  practice  among  her  own  the  gospel  she  preaches." — Dr. 
AlfrcdJ.  P.  McClure. 

XV 

1  Cor.  12.  25,  26.  That  there  should  be  no  schism  in  the  body; 
but  that  the  members  should  have  the  same  care  one  for  another. 
And  whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffer  with  it; 
or  one  member  be  honored,  all  the  members  rejoice  with  it. 

There  are  scores  of  private  firms  and  corporations  and 
railroads  now  pensioning  their  employees  and  officers. 

"Is  thy  cruse  of  comfort  wasting? 
Rise  and  share  it  with  another. 
And  through  all  the  years  of  famine. 
It  shall  serve  thee  and  thy  brother." 

— Mrs.  E.  R.  Charles. 

XVI 

1  Tim.  6.  17-19.  Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this  world,  that 
they  be  not  highminded,  nor  trust  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in 
the  living  God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy;  that 
they  do  good,  that  they  be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to  dis- 
tribute, willing  to  communicate;  laying  up  in  store  for  them- 
selves a  good  foundation  against  the  time  to  come,  that  they 
may  lay  hold  on  eternal  life. 

There  is  no  happiness  in  having  and  getting,  but  only  in 
giving.  Half  the  world  is  on  the  wrong  scent  in  pursuit  of 
happiness. — Henry  Driimmond. 

The  Church  of  Scotland,  from  Sustentation  Funds  and 
tithes,  gives  her  Retired  Ministers  a  pension  of  $800  to  $900. 


HOMILETIC  HINTS  487 

There  are  many  needy  ones  who  will  not  apply  for  help 
because  the  Eelief  Fund  is  so  small  and  they  feel  that  there 
are  others  who  need  the  help  more  than  they  do.  There  was 
an  aged  and  infirm  Minister.  The  last  handful  had  been 
taken  from  the  barrel  of  meal.  When  he  was  asked  why  he 
had  not  applied  for  assistance,  his  reply  was,  "Because  I 
thought  there  might  be  many  of  God's  servants  in  greater 
need,  and  I  knew  the  supply  was  small.'' — Dr.  Strijker. 

XVII 

Prov.  11.  25.  The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat;  and  he  that 
watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himself. 

In  giving,  a  man  receives  more  than  he  gives,  and  the  more 
is  in  proportion  to  the  worth  of  the  thing  given. — George 
Macdonald. 

XVII I 
Eccl.  11.  1.     Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters:    for  thou  shalt 
find  it  after  many  days. 

We  lose    what   on   ourselves   we   spend. 
We  have  as  treasure  without  end 
Whatever,  Lord,  to  Thee  we  lend. 

To  feed  tlie  hungry  and  relie^'e  the  distressed,  to  take  care 
of  the  workers  in  the  household  of  faith,  when  they  are  sick 
and  disa1)led  and  old,  is  one  of  the  fundamental  duties  of 
Christianity,  and  no  matter  what  other  urgent  claims  there 
may  seem  to  be,  we  ])elieve  that,  because  this  first  and  primary 
duty  is  neglected,  the  Church  is  poor  and  hopeless,  and  lack- 
ing in  courage  and  brave  initiative. — Dr.  McClure. 

XIX 

Prov.  19.  17.  He  that  hath  pity  upon  the  poor  lendeth  unto 
the  Lord;  and  that  which  he  hath  given  will  he  pay  him  again. 

A  bag  that  does  not  wax  old  is  one  that  will  never  fail  to 
send  an  income.  There  are  men  in  heaven  who  were  rich 
while  on  earth,  and  who  in  some  wise  beneficent  ways 
invested  their  23ro23erty  with  a  view  to  results  in  another  world. 
Ask  them,  "Are  you  getting  any  income  from  jouv  invest- 
ments down  there?"     "0,  yes,  a  wonderful  income.     There 


488  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

is  a  continual  stream  of  persons  coming  in  here  who  were 
started  heavenward  or  were  helped  on  their  way  by  those 
investments.  They  are  beginning  to  come  up  out  of  all  lands 
and  tribes  and  kindreds  and  tongues."  Many  earthly  invest- 
ments pay  dividends  in  heaven. — William  Ash  more. 

There  was  a  man,  they  called  him  mad, 
The  more  he  gave,  the  more  he  had. 

XX 

2  Cor.  9.  1,  2.  As  touching  the  ministering  to  the  saints,  it  is 
superfluous  for  me  to  write  to  you:  for  I  know  the  forwardness 
of  your  mind,  for  which  I  boast  of  you  to  them  of  Macedonia, 
that  Achaia  was  ready  a  year  ago;  and  your  zeal  hath  provoked 
very  many. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  is  endeavoring  to  increase  its 
endowment  fund  to  $10,000,000.  In  1908  this  Church  con- 
tributed more  than  $374,000  for  present  needs. 

During  1914  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  paid  more 
than  a  million  dollars  to  its  aged  Ministers,  widows  and 
orphans.  During  1915  it  will  engage  in  a  campaign  for 
$10,000,000  as  the  150th  Anniversary  Jubilee  Gift. 

XXI 

2  Cor.  9.  9,  10.  As  it  is  written.  He  hath  dispersed  abroad;  he 
hath  given  to  the  poor:  his  righteousness  remaineth  forever. 
Now  he  that  ministereth  seed  to  the  sower  both  minister  bread 
for  your  food,  and  multiply  your  seed  sown,  and  increase  the 
fruits  of  your  righteousness; 

For  his  bounty. 
There  was  no  winter  in't;   an  autumn  'twas. 
That  grew  the  more  by  reaping. — Shakespeare. 

For  the  heart  grows  rich  in  giving: 

All  its  wealth  is  living  grain; 
Seeds  which  mildew  in  the  garner, 

Scattered,  fill  with  gold  the  plain. 

XXII 
1  Cor.  9.  11.    If  we  have  sown  unto  you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a 
great  thing  if  we  shall  reap  your  carnal  things? 

Andrew  Carnegie  has  given  five  millions  for  rewarding 
heroes  and  pensioning  them.     Good ! 

Some  day  a  millionaire  may  establish  a  ^'hero  fund"  for 


HOMILETIC  HINTS  489 

country  ministers  Avho  spend  their  lives  in  the  service  of  the 
community,  not  only  ministering  weekly  to  their  congrega- 
tions, but  marrying  the  young  people,  visiting  the  sick,  bury- 
ing the  dead,  and  being  always  ready  to  respond  to  the  call 
of  need  of  any  kind. — Youth's  Companion. 

If  the  man  in  the  pulpit  helps  you  with  his  thought  and 
speech,  recognize  it  as  you  do  the  work  of  the  lawyer  who 
counsels  you  what  course  to  take  when  Smith's  cow  straddles 
your  fence  and  eats  your  corn.  Recognize  it  as  you  do  the 
work  of  the  doctor  who  cures  your  boy  who  had  eaten  too 
many  of  your  neighbor's  green  apples.  When  these  bill  you 
for  services,  you  own  your  debt  and  pay  up.  But  the  minister 
will  seldom  ask  for  his.  His  fiber  won't  stand  that  strain; 
but  he  will  beg  for  other  and  less  needy  institutions  than 
his  own  home  and  study  shelves. — Chronicle,  Halifax. 

XXIII 

Acts  20.  35.  I  have  showed  you  all  things,  how  that  so  laboring 
ye  ought  to  support  the  weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said,  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive. 

There  is  on  record  an  admirable  prayer  of  Thomas  Sutton, 
the  pious  founder  of  the  Charterhouse,  "0,  Lord,  Thou  hast 
given  me  a  large  estate,  give  me  a  large  heart.'' 

XXIV 

2  Cor.  8.  9.  For  ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that,  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  became  poor, 
that  ye  through  his  poverty  might  be  rich. 

You  can  give  without  loving,  but  you  can't  love  without 
giving. — Marion  Lawrance. 

Every  dictate  of  justice,  humanity,  gratitude  and  religion 
urges  us  to  care  more  adequately  for  our  worn-out  Ministers, 
who  are  in  need  after  spending  their  lives  in  most  self-denying 
service  to  Christ  and  the  Church;  and  to  assist  the  widows 
and  helpless  orphans  who  have  shared  the  privations  of  those 
who,  having  served  their  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  have 
"fallen  asleep." 

Help  us  to  help  each  other,  Lord, 

Each  other's  cross  to  bear; 

Let  each  his  friendly  aid  afford. 

And  feel  his  brother's  care, 


490  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

XXV 

Heb.  6.  10.  For  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget  your  work 
and  labor  of  love,  which  ye  have  showed  toward  his  name,  in 
that  ye  have  ministered  to  the  saints,  and  do  minister. 

The  assistance  which  the  Church  gives  for  Ministerial 
Relief  brings  more  cheer  and  sunshine  into  darkened  homes 
than  you  can  imagine.  The  gratitude  of  the  beneficiaries  is 
unbounded.  They  are  constantly  remembering  at  the  Throne 
of  Grace  those  who  have  made  this  help  possible.  Have  you 
a  place  in  their  prayers  ? 

Me  let  the  tender  office  long  engage 

To  rock  the  cradle  of  reposing  age. — Pope. 

XXVI 
Gal.   6.   6.     Let  him  that  is  taught  in  the  word  communicate 
unto  Him  that  teacheth  in  all  good  things. 

The  average  mechanic  in  Xew  York  City  receives  an  aver- 
age of  $4.60  a  day,  which  makes  $1,380  a  year  for  300  working 
days. 

He  had  some  money,  and  instead  of  hoarding  it,  hunted  up 
one  of  God's  aged  and  disa])led  ministers,  Paul,  and  used  part 
of  the  money  for  him.  The  record  reads  thus:  "The  Lord 
give  mercy  unto  the  house  of  Onesiphorus,  for  he  oft  refreshed 
me,  and  was  not  ashamed  of  my  chain.  But  when  he  was  in 
Rome,  he  sought  me  out  diligently  and  found  me.  The  Lord 
grant  unto  him  that  he  may  find  mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that 
day." 

If  Onesiphorus  had  held  on  to  his  money  and  let  Paul 
sufi'er,  he  could  have  enjoyed  it  only  a  few  years;  he  parted 
with  his  money,  and  helped  the  suffering  Minister  of  God, 
and  it  has  given  him  nineteen  hundred  years  of  pleasure. — 
Dr.  TJiomas  E.  Converse. 

XXVII 

Matt.  10.  41,  42.  He  that  receiveth  a  prophet  in  the  name  of  a 
prophet  shall  receive  a  prophet's  reward;  and  he  that  receiveth 
a  righteous  man  in  the  name  of  a  righteous  man  shall  receive  a 
righteous  man's  reward.  And  whosoever  shall  give  to  drink 
unto  one  of  these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only  in  the 
name  of  a  disciple,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  shall  in  no  wise 
lose  his  reward. 


HOMILETIC  HIXTS  491 

Give  strength,   give   thought,   give   deeds,   give  pelf, 

Give  love,  give  tears,  and  give  thyself; 

Give,  give,  be  always  giving, 

Who  gives  not  is  not  living. 

The  more  we  give, 

The  more  we  live. 

These  Ministers  have  been  retired,  not  because  of  any  want 
of  courage  or  eagerness  for  the  battle,  but  because  they  have 
grown  old  in  the  service  or  have  been  wounded  in  the  fight. 
Their  loneliness  and  want  should  touch  every  soul.  This 
(;ry  goes  up  from  their  hearts : 

"How  long,  0  Lord,  to  wait 

Beside  this  open  gate? 
My    sheep    with    many    a    lamb 
Have  entered,  and  I  am 

Alone,  and  it  is  late." 

XXVITI 

Matt.  18.  5.  And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in 
my  name  receiveth  me. 

Her  husband  was  in  the  ministry  eighteen  years,  preaching 
to  weak  churches  for  a  very  small  salary.  Her  five  children 
were  in  school.  She  wrote:  ''Knights  of  Pythias  paid  for 
books  of  smaller  children  last  term.  Have  managed  by  close 
economy  to  keep  out  of  debt  until  now,  but  am  falling  behind 
and  the  future  looks  very  gloomy.  If  the  children  have 
to  stop  school,  I  see  nothing  ahead  for  them."  Yes,  the 
Church  is  ahead  of  them,  the  almoner  of  God's  mercy. 

The  Church  is  not  a  myth.  She  is  as  much  an  entity  as 
the  state,  and  she  claims  far  more  than  the  state;  she  claims 
to  be  a  mother.  Why  not  then  take  care  of  her  sick  and 
aged  and  children? — G.  H.  McKniglit. 

It  is  not  the  deed  we  do. 

Though  the  deed  be  ever  so  fair. 
But  the  love  the  dear  Lord  looketh  for, 

Hidden  with  lowly  care 
In  the  heart  of  the  deed  so  fair. 

XXIX 

Mark  9.  41.  For  whosoever  shall  give  you  a  cup  of  water  to 
drink  in  my  name,  because  ye  belong  to  Christ,  verily  I  say  unto 
you,  he  shall  not  lose  his  reward. 


40-3  THE  RETIKED  MmiSTER 

That  man  may  last,  but  never  lives, 
Who  much  receives,  but  nothing  gives; 
Whom  none  can  love,  whom  none  can  thank. 
Creation's  blot,  creation's  blank. 

— Thomas  Gibbons. 

The  widows  have  endured  hardness  as  they  stood  by  the 
side  of  their  husbands  in  the  poor  mission  fields  of  our 
Church.  They  are  making  a  brave  struggle  to  meet  the  needs 
of  their  families  at  a  time  when  the  cost  of  living  is  greatly 
increasing.  The  beneficiaries  are  dying  off  rapidly.  Help 
iiuw  to  bring  relief  to  the  "saints"  who  are  in  need. 

"To  comfort  and  to  bless. 
To  find  a  balm  for  woe, 
To  tend  the  lone  and  fatherless. 
Is  angels'  work  below." 

XXX 

James  1.  27.  Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the 
Father  is  this;  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  afflic- 
tion, and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  world. 

Of  some  of  the  appeals  for  relief  which  come  to  us  it  might 
be  said,  "Cut  the  words  and  they  would  bleed."  They  rarely 
])reathe  any  note  of  complaint;  they  are  spoken  in  the  ear 
in  closets,  but  they  throb  with  a  meaning  big  enough  to  be 
proclaimed  upon  the  house  tops.  Xo  servant  of  the  Cross 
can  ask  to  be  exempted  from  the  obligation  to  endure  hard- 
ness as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  surely  the  Church 
should  not  wait  to  see  how  well  her  ao-ed  or  widowed  or 
orphaned  ones  can  starve. 

Never  are  kind  acts  done 

To  wipe  the  weeping  eyes. 
But  like  the  flashes  of  the  sun 

They  signal  to  the  skies; 
And  up  above,  the  angels  read 
How  we  have  helped  the  sorer  need. 

XXXI 

Psa.  37.  3.  Trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good;  so  shalt  thou  dwell 
in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed. 

A  chairman  wrote  concerning  a  beneficiary:  "He  is  most 


HOMILETIC  HINTS  493 

worthy  in  every  way.  In  his  work  he  has  been  faithful  and 
zealous,  successful  in  promoting  the  cause  of  the  Gospel,  and 
is  one  of  Christ's  sincere,  patient,  tender  and  loving  disciples. 
I  think  he  will  never  have  the  strength  to  preach  again  and 
believe  that  his  life  is  drawing  to  a  rapid  close.  He  is  rest- 
ing on  the  promise,  'Trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good ;  so  shalt 
thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed.'  " 

XXXII 

Psa.  37.  25.  I  have  been  young,  and  now  am  old;  yet  have  I  not 
seen  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  his  seed  begging  bread. 

Many  of  the  old  servants  of  Christ  and  his  Church  have 
this  same  child-like  faith  in  their  Heavenly  Father.  But  God 
does  not  send  the  ravens  to  feed  them,  as  He  sent  to  the 
prophet  of  old.  He  does  not  rain  the  manna  from  heaven, 
as  He  did  to  feed  the  children  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness.  He 
says  to  us,  "Give  ye  them  to  eat." 

XXXIII 

Job  5.  26.  Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age,  like  as 
a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  his  season. 

In  latter  days  of  Confederacy  when  boys  sixteen  and  seven- 
teen years  of  age  were  being  sent  into  war,  Alexander  Stephens 
said :  "We  are  burning  up  the  seed-corn.  The  war  must 
stop."  Xot  so  much  danger  of  burning  up  seed-corn  to-day 
in  the  army  of  God  as  of  neglecting  the  ripe  ear  in  the  shock. 
— Dr.  J.  W.  Bachman. 

I'm  growing  fonder  of  my  staff, 
I'm  growing  dimmer  in  the  eyes, 
I'm  growing  fainter  in  my  laugh, 
I'm  growing  deeper  in  my  sighs, 
I'm  growing  careless  of  my  dress, 
I'm  growing  frugal  of  my  gold, 
I'm  growing  wise;    I'm  growing,   yes — 
I'm  growing  old. — Saxe. 

XXXIY 

Psa.  92.  14.  They  shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age;  they 
shall  be  fat  and  flourishing. 

Age  is  not  all  decay ;  it  is  the  ripening,  the  swelling  of  the 


494  THE  EETTRED  MIXISTER 

frcsli  life  witliin,  tluit  witliers  and  bursts  the  husk. — George 
Macdonald. 

A  faithful  veteran,  who  has  lost  his  eyesight,  and  because 
of  rapidly  failing  health  has  had  to  give  up  his  charge,  said 
at  a  delightful  communion  service:  "I  want  you  to  think  of 
me,  as  the  shadows  are  lengthening  across  my  path,  as  still 
holding  out  the  light  of  God's  truth  to  guide  the  wanderers 
Home/' 

XXXV 

Psa.  71.  18.  Now  also  when  I  am  old  and  grayheaded,  0  God, 
forsake  me  not;  until  I  have  showed  thy  strength  unto  this 
generation,  and  thy  power  to  every  one  that  is  to  come. 

In  1913,  the  Pennsylvania  Eailroad  Company  had  on  its 
pension  rolls  3,975  former  employees  to  whom  it  paid  $1,165,- 
996.33. 

Forsake  me  not  when  I  am  old; 

The  daylight  wanes,  my  work  is  done, 
My  feet  draw  near  the  streets  of  gold, 

I  wait  the  setting  of  the  sun. 

Forsake  me  not  when  I  am  old, 

When  youthful  vigor  is  no  more; 
When  in  the  twilight  gray  and  cold, 

I  sit  and  wait  the  summons  o'er. 

XXXYI 

Lev.  19.  32.  Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head  and 
honor  the  face  of  the  old  man,  and  fear  thy  God:  I  am  the  Lord. 

Our  youth  we  can  have  but  today; 
We  must  always  find  time  to  grow  old. 

— Bishop  Berkeley. 

I  thank  God  for  the  presence  of  our  old  men,  w^ho,  unable 
to  bear  the  burden  and  the  heat  of  the  day,  are  praying  for 
the  peace  and  prosperity  of  Zion,  and  with  trembling  voice 
are  bearing  comfort  to  bereaved  souls.  God  bless  the  Fathers 
in  Israel  who  still  tarry  with  us,  and  spare  them  to  bless  the 
Church  of  Christ  with  their  ripe  experience  and  consecrated 
wisdom,  and  to  fill  the  communities  and  homes  in  which  they 
live  with  the  delightful  fragrance  of  their  Spirit-lilled  lives. — 
Dr.  W.  H.  Frazer. 


HOMILETIC  HINTS  495 

Forsake  thee  not  when  thou  art  old? 

Thy  Father  hears  thy  trustful  prayer, 
His  arms  of  love  shall  thee  enfold; 

His  hand  thy  table  shall  prepare. 

Forsake  thee  not  when  thou  art  old? 

TV'c  hear  the  call;  the  churches  ivake; 
The  heart  that  won  us  to  the  fold 

Our  grateful  love  shall  ne'er  forsake. 

XXXVII 

Philem.  13.  Whom  I  would  have  retained  with  me,  that  in 
thy  stead  he  might  have  ministered  unto  me  in  the  bonds  of  the 
gospel. 

One  can  easily  get  stirred  up  over  this  matter  when  he 
begins  to  examine  facts  and  figures — and  yet  few  sermons 
are  harder  for  some  of  the  ministers  to  preach.  If  he  were 
only  a  layman  for  that  sermon !  Or  if  it  were  his  people,  the 
laity,  who  were  facing  a  homeless  old  age,  and  all  the  min- 
isters had  homes  of  their  own,  and  he  were  preaching  to  them ! 
Then  how  easy  it  would  be  to  put  fervor  and  heart-power 
into  the  appeal.  But  to  seem  to  plead  for  self,  for  bread  and 
clothes  and  shelter — no  wonder  many  a  man  and  his  family 
are  suffering  rather  than  to  let  their  wants  be  known. — 
Ckurcli  Standard. 

Not  what  we  give,  but  what  we  share, 
For  the  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare; 
Who  gives  himself  with  his  alms,  feeds  three, 
Himself,  his  hungering  neighbor,  and  Me. 

— Lowell. 

XXXVIII 

2  Tim.  4.  9,  21.  Do  thy  diligence  to  come  shortly  unto  me. 
Come  before  winter. 

Tlie  Old  Merchants  Eelief  Fund  of  Philadelphia  gives  a 
pension  of  three  hundred  dollars  to  old  merchants. 

"And  yet  it  never  was  in  my  soul 
To  play  so  ill  a  part, 
But  evil  is  ivrought  by  tvant  of  thought 
As  well  as  want  of  heart." — Hood. 

There  is  surely  no  want  of  Jteart  in  the  Ohurch.  But  many 
have  not  Uiouf/ht  of  this  need.     Have  youf 


496  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

XXXIX 

The  title  to  Psalm  71,  in  the  American  Revision  reads, 

"Prayer  of  an  Old  Man  for  Deliverance." 
The  Psalm  photographs  the  hopes^  fears,  faith  and  prayers 
of  a  Veteran  Preacher.  The  tone  is  plaintive  yet  trustful, 
hut  the  Psalm  ends  in  gladness,  and  expresses  in  mingled 
prayers  and  thanksgiving  the  pathetic  history  of  hlended  joy 
and  sorrow  throughout  an  anxious,  patient  and  finally  trium- 
phant life : 

"In  thee,  0  Jehovah,  do  I  take  refuge; 
Let  me  never  be  put  to  shame. 
Deliver  me  in  thy  righteousness,  and  rescue  me: 
Bow  down  thy  ear  unto  me  and  save  me. 

"For  thou  art  my  hope,  0  Lord  Jehovah: 
Thou  art  my  trust  from  my  youth. 
Cast  me  not  off  in  my  old  age: 
Forsake  me  not  when  my  strength  faileth." 

The  Aged  Minister  becomes  jealous  for  the  good  name  of 
Jehovah,  because  the  world  was  saying  that  God  had  been 
unfaithful  to  Him. 

"Mine  enemies  speak  concerning  me, 
Saying,  'God  hath  forsaken  him.'  " 

So  the  old  Preacher  tells  his  experience : 

"My  mouth  shall  tell  of  thy  righteousness, 
And  thy  salvation  all  the  day. 

I  will  come  to  the  mighty  acts  of  the  Lord  Jehovah, 
I  will  make  mention  of  thy  righteousness,  even  of  thine  only. 
O  God,  thou  hath  taught  me  from  my  youth: 
And  hitherto  have  I  declared  thy  wondrous  works. 
Yea,  even  when  I  am  old  and  gray-headed, 
O  God,  forsake  me  not." 

XL 

Heb.  13.  16.  To  do  good  and  to  communicate  forget  not;  for 
with  such  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased. 

Gal.  6.  10.  Let  us  do  good  unto  all  men,  especially  unto  them 
who  are  of  the  household  of  faith. 

Give  as  you  would  if  an  angel 

Awaited  your  gift  at  the  door; 
Give  as  you  would  if  tomorrow 

Found  you  where  waiting  is  o'er; 
Give  as  you  would  to  the  Master 
If  you  met  His  searching  look; 
Give   as  you  would  of  your   substance, 
If  His  hand  your  offering  took. 


HOMTLETIC  HINTS  497 

Every  one  may  have  the  joy  of  the  Patriarch  Job  who'  ex- 
claimed: ^'Because  1  delivered  the  poor  that  cried,  and  the 
fatherless,  and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him,  the  blessing 
of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came  upon  me ;  and  I  caused 
the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy.  I  was  eyes  to  the  blind, 
and  feet  was  I  to  the  lame.  I  was  a  father  to  the  poor :  and 
the  cause  which  I  knew  not  I  searched  out."    Job.  29.  12-16. 

XLI 

Matt.  25.  34-40.  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on  his  right 
hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world;  for  I  was  an 
hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me 
drink:  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in;  naked,  and  ye 
clothed  me:  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me:  I  was  in  prison,  and 
ye  came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  him,  saying, 
Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  and  fed  thee?  or  thirsty, 
and  gave  thee  drink?  When  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took 
thee  in?  or  naked,  and  clothed  thee?  Or  when  saw  we  thee  sick, 
or  in  prison,  and  came  unto  thee?  And  the  King  shall  answer 
and  say  unto  them.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  have 
done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  iDrethren,  ye  have  done 
it  unto  me. 

VETERANS  OF  THE  CROSS 

Miss  E.  E.  Hewitt 

All  glory  to  our  Captain,  for  the  Veterans  of  the  Cross! 
They  held  aloft  his  banner,  never  counting  earthly  loss; 
They  bravely  fought  the  battles  of  the  right  against  the  wrong; 
They  led  the  Lord's  battalions  with  a  hallelujah  song. 

For  all  the  faithful  service  of  the  Veterans  of  the  King, 
O,  let  the  Church  they  honored,  glad  and  grateful  tribute  bring! 
They  gave  their  lives'  devotion:  let  us  give  them,  as  their  right, 
The  comforts  that  will  fill  them  with  contentment  and  delight. 

Salute,  O  Christian  soldiers,  as  the  Veteran  corps  goes  by; 
The  angels  wait  their  coming,  in  the  city  built  on  high; 
O,  haste  to  render  homage  to  these  leaders,  good  and  true, 
Before  the  gates  shall  open  for  the  final  grand  review. 

XLII 

Matt.  26.  6,  7.  Now  when  Jesus  was  in  Bethany  in  the  house  of 
Simon  the  Leper,  there  came  unto  him  a  woman  having  an 
ALABASTER  BOX  of  Very  precious  ointment,  and  poured  it  on  his 
head. 

Do  not  keep  the  alabaster  boxes  of  your  love  and  tenderness 


498  THE  EETIl^ED  MTXISTEK 

sealed  until  your  frieuds  are  dead.  Fill  their  lives  with  its 
sweetness.  8|)eak  approviu*]:,  cheeriii*;'  words  Avhile  their 
hearts  can  he  thriUed  and  made  }iapi)ier  ))y  tlieni.  Tlie  kind 
things  you  mean  to  say  wlieii  tliey  are  gone  say  l)efore  they 
go.  The  flowers  you  mean  to  send  for  their  coffins  send  to 
brighten  and  sweeten  their  homes. 

If  my  friends  have  ala])aster  boxes  laid  away,  full  of 
fragrant  perfumes  of  sympathy  and  affection,  which  they  in- 
tend to  break  over  my  dead  body,  I  would  rather  they  would 
bring  them  now  in  my  weary  and  troubled  hours,  and  open 
them,  that  I  may  be  refreshed  and  cheered.  I  would  rather 
have  a  plain  coffin,  without  a  flower,  a  funeral  without  an 
eulogy,  than  a  life  without  the  sweetness  of  love  and  sym- 
pathy. 

Let  us  learn  to  anoint  our  friends  beforehand  for  their 
burial.  Post-mortem  kindness  does  not  cheer  the  burdened 
spirit.  Flowers  on  the  coffin  cast  no  fragrance  backward  over 
the  weary  way. 

I'd  rather  buy  a  cheap  bouquet 
And  give  to  my  friend  this  very  day, 
Than  a  bushel  of  roses,  white  and  red, 
To  put  on  his  coffin  when  he's  dead. 

XLIII 

The  Widow's  Mite 
Mark  12.  42,     And  there  came  a  certain  poor  widow,  and  she 
threw  in  two  mites,  which  make  a  farthing. 

''Jesus  sat  over  against  the  treasury."  Tie  still  sits  there, 
watching.    All  our  giving  is  in  his  sight. 

''And  hell  eld/'  not  critically  or  with  fault-finding,  hut 
delighted. 

"Hoiv  the  people  cast  money  into  the  treasury."  ^'Flung 
it."  They  like  to  do  it.  Methodists  alone  "flung"  in  $40,- 
000,000  last  year. 

"And  many  that  were  rich  cast  in  much."  Thank  God 
for  consecrated  wealth ! 

"And  there  was  a  certain  poor  ividow."  Xameless?  Yes. 
But  so  were  the  "rich."    No  discrimination  here. 

"And  she  thretv  in,"  just  as  the  saints  "cast  their  crowns" 
before  the  throne.     It's  the  same  word.     0  the  Lordliness! 


IIOMILETIC   HINTS  41)J) 

the  prodii;ality  of  her  giving!  She  gave  with  the  abandon 
of  a  spendthrift  King ! 

"Two  Mites."  Is  that  a  climax  or  an  anti-climax?  Call 
it  a  mill — the  tenth  part  of  a  cent — and  you  exaggerate. 

"And  lie  called  his  disciples  unto  liim."  It  was  'Hoo  good 
to  keep/^  He  was  afraid  that  they  would  not  ^^catch  on" ! 
that  the  rattle  of  the  Pharisees'  gold  would  distract  their 
attention. 

''/  say  unto  you  that  this  poor  widow  hath  cast  in  more 
than  all."  Eelatively?  Yes.  But  actually  "more  than  all." 
For  they  quit.     She  is  still  "flinging  it  in." 

"For  all  they  did  cast  in  of  their  abundance."  "Super- 
fluity," "overflow."  I  wish  that  the  Church  of  Christ  would 
do  even  that  much — reach  the  standard  of  the  Phari- 
sees and  give  some  of  their  "overflow"  money  to  the  Veteran 
Preachers.  When  that  standard  of  giving  is  reached  the 
Church  will  have  millions  for  the  Retired  Ministers,  for  the 
"overflow"  alone  is  reckoned  by  hundreds  of  millions. 

''But  she  of  her  want."  "Penury,"  contrasted  with  "super- 
fluity." God  bless  this  Princely  Giver !  The  dictionary  of 
your  experience  does  not  contain  the  Avord  "want,"  but  is 
crowded  with  the  synonyms  of  "superfluity." 

"Did  cast  in  all  that  she  had,  all  Iter  living."  Every  coin 
she  had  in  the  world. 

Two  mites — half  a  mill !  How  small !  But  the  collective 
voice  of  the  ages  cries  out, 

"0  !  Woman  !     Great  is  thy  munificence  !" 

XLIV 

"Barzillai  was  a  very  aged  man;  and  the  king  said  unto  him. 
Come  thou  over  with  me,  and  I  will  sustain  thee  with  me  in 
Jerusalem,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  require  of  me,  that  will 
I  do  for  thee." 

This  is  not  the  first  time  David  met  Barzillai.  When  the 
young  king  was  pursued  by  Absalom,  Barzillai  "brought  beds, 
basins,  earthen  vessels,  wheat,  barley,  meal,  parched  grain, 
beans,  lentils,  parched  pulse,  honey,  butter,  sheep  and  cheese 
for  David  and  the  people  that  were  with  him  to  eat;  because 
the  people  were  hungry  and  weary  and  thirsty."  In  recog- 
nition of  this  service  rendered  years  before,  David  provided 
for  Barzillai  in  his  old  age,  and  not  as  a  "benevolence"  com- 


500  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

plainingly  or  grudgingly  given,  but  as  duty  on  the  ground  of 
the  past  service  rendered  by  him  in  his  better  days. 

In  the  same  way  the  Veteran  Ministers  rendered  us  unsel- 
fish service  in  the  days  of  their  strength,  and  we  owe  them 
not  a  miserable  charity,  but  an  adequate  support.  The  sal- 
aries of  many  of  our  Ministers  are  barely  adequate  for  a  live- 
lihood. It  would  be  truer  to  say,  barely  sufficient  for  subsist- 
ence. Such  men  when  they  are  too  old  to  be  any  longer  in 
active  service,  will  come  to  poverty  unless  the  Church  which 
has  benefited  by  their  work  makes  provision  for  their  needs. 
The  Church  must  act  as  fairly  in  this  matter  as  did  King 
David. 

The  inadequate  support  given  to  many  of  our  Ministers 
during  the  years  of  their  active  service  is  not  the  only  reason 
why  we  should  provide  for  them  in  their  old  age.  We  insist 
that  ministers  shall  not  divert  their  attention  from  their 
holy  work  through  commercial  distractions.  Why,  then, 
should  we  not  provide  an  adequate  support  for  them  in  their 
declining  and  unproductive  years? 

What  is  good  for  commerce  and  education  ought  to  be  good 
for  religion.  Ministers  are  not  caring  to  make  fortunes,  but 
they  do  desire  the  assurance  that  they  shall  not  come  to  pov- 
erty in  their  old  age.  Shall  it  be  said  in  regard  to  the  pension 
system  that  "sons  of  this  world  are  in  their  own  generation, 
wiser  than  the  sons  of  light"  ?  When  the  Church  has  as  sensi- 
tive a  conscience  on  the  right  of  preempted  service  as  David 
had  what  may  we  not  expect  in  promises  for  the  cause  of 
Retired  Ministers ! — Dr.  A.  D.  Batchelor,  in  the  Butte  Miner. 


MODERN  PSALMS 


THE  REV.  W.  H.  FOULKES,  D.D. 


THE  FATHER  OF  THE  FATHERLESS 

The  Psalm  of  the  Widowed  Mother 

They  were  cradled  in  childhood  when  God  took  him;  they  awak- 
ened, and,  lo,  they  were  fatherless. 
I  held  them  to  my  heart,  but  it  was  too  hot  with  grief. 
The  flood  gates  were  opened,  but  my  tears  brought  no  succor. 

He  was  strong  and  manly;  I  helped  him  carry  the  load. 
When  death  knocked  at  the  door,  I  offered  myself. 
It  scorned  my  pleading  and  carried  away  my  beloved. 

When  I  awoke  from  the  trance,  I  saw  hungry  mouths. 
My  precious  ones  called  for  their  father's  help. 
My  cup  of  grief  was  full  of  bitter  dregs. 

Then  God  sent  His  angels;  Goodness  and  Mercy  knocked  at  my 

door. 
They  entered  and  removed  their  outer  garments; 
They  kindled  the  fire  on  my  cheerless  hearth. 

They  fed  me  with  good  things;  my  darlings  shouted  and  laughed. 
I  sent  them  at  length  to  the  school  of  instruction. 
They  have  grown  into  youth:  yet  their  arms  are  still  about  their 
widowed  mother. 

The  Father  hath  remembered  the  fatherless;  He  hath  visited  the 

desolate  mother. 
The  people  of  God  comfort  me  every  day,  they  do  not  fail. 
The    thanksgiving   of   the   widow    and    the    fatherless    arise   like 

incense  unto  God. 


501 


tiOP.  THE  EETTEED  MINISTER 

GOD  IS  MY  REFUGE 

The  Psalm  of  the  Aged  Saint 

God  is  my  refuge,  I  am  resting  in  Him. 

Old  age  has  come  upon  me,  yet  I  am  unafraid: 

Days  of  adversity  have  befallen  my  lot,  but  I  am  secure. 

In  the  hour  of  my  weakness  I  cried  unto  my  Deliverer, 
"Send  help,  I  beseech  Thee,"  and  He  heard  my  moaning. 

My  years  of  fruitful  ministry  have  passed  like  a  dream; 
Young  men  have  risen  up  to  stand  in  my  stead. 

Relief  has  come  to  me  from  the  Most  High  by  the  hands  of  His 

people. 
Every  morning  I  bless  the  Lord  for  the  kindness  of  His  servants. 
Friends  have  ministered  to  me  of  their  substance  and  I  am  filled. 
Unto  the  end  of  my  days  my  bread  will  not  fail. 

God  has  opened  His  hand  and  the  hearts  of  His  chosen  ones. 
Exult,  O  my  soul,  for  I  am  forgotten  neither  of  God  nor  of  men! 


THE  JUDGE  OF  THE  WIDOW 

The  Psalm  of  the  Lonely  Soul 

Jehovah  is  my  Judge;  He  only  knoweth  my  loneliness  and  grief. 
For  thirty  years  we  walked  together,  yea  for  two  score  years  and 

ten. 
The  young  man  took  me  from  my  father's  house,  we  builded  our 

own  altar  to  God, 
Jehovah   filled  my  lap  with   children;    lo,   He  hath   taken   them 

away. 
We  only  were  left:  I  felt  for  my  husband's  hand,  but  I  could  not 

find  it. 
I  am  left  alone,  but  my  Redeemer  is  with  me. 
In  the  morning  I  rose  to  eat  bitter  bread,  but  my  table  was  filled 

with  goodness. 
Loving  hands  ministered  to  me;  my  meal  and  my  oil  did  not  fail. 
I  put  on  sackcloth,  but  the  people  of  God  gave  me  garments  of 

love. 
I  opened  a  little  door,  but  it  led  me  into  a  large  room. 
My  eyes  are  dim  and  my  ears  are  dull,  yet  I  am  full  of  joy. 
Loving-kindness  is  turning  my  tears  into  pearls. 
My  soul  is  adorned  as  a  bride  for  her  husband. 
Blessed  be  God  who  hath  moved  His  people  to  visit  me. 
In  but  a  little  while  the  days  of  my  desolation  will  be  ended. 
Jehovah  is  my  Judge:   His  people  are  my  faithful  helpers  and 

friends. 


PART  IV.     THE  CLAIM  ILLUSTRATED 

CHAPTER  II.    STORY  AND  SONG 

PAGE 

1.  The  Happy  Man Collins .  .    505 

"Is  He  Worth  It?",  Western  Christian 
Advocate,  514;  Hope  for  the  Superan- 
nuates, 514 

2.  Old  Preacher's  Soliloquy Brown 515 

The  Rev.  Nowknowsbetter's  Letter,  520; 
Not  by  Hard  Luck  Stories,  522;  Super- 
annuated, 524 

3.  Our  Veterans Greenfield 526 

4.  The  Light  Brigade Kipling 528 

Who  Forgets? 529 

5.  Veterans! Hough 530 

6.  Different  Ways  We  Treat  Them Welch 531 

Aged  German  Ministers 532 

7.  The    Circuit  Preacher Townsend 533 

8.  Quitting  Too  Soon Guardian 534 

9.  Wanted — A  Minister's  Wife 536 

10.  A  Strong  Church MaUeson 537 

11.  Miscellaneous: 

The  Forgotten  Man,  539;  Love  Me  Now, 
Larimore,  540;  Making  Money  for 
God,  541;  The  Old  Packing  Boxes, 
McKibbin,  542;  Aged  Ministers,  543; 
The  Lord's  Nickel,  543;  For  All  the 
Saints,  544;  The  Young  Minister,  545; 
Statesmen  and  Ministers,  545;  Grand 
Army  of  the  Church,  546;  Ministers' 
Sons,  546;  Be  a  Booster,  547;  The  Pres- 
byterians, 548;  Indian  Summer  of  Life, 
648;  The  Second  Mile,  Moore,  549; 
The  Village  Chapel,  Lloyd  George,  549; 
The  Blind  Gii'l  Knows,  550;  The  Saddle- 
bags, Royal,  550;  He  Left  All,  551; 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  551;  New 
York  Fire  Department,  552;  Thrown  to 
the  Scrap  Heap,  552 

12.  Proceedings  Washington  Convention.  .  .     Smjder 553 

13.  A  Summary Hingeley 568 

14.  Music: 

Veteran's  Camp  Fire,  Hingeley,  572;  Facing 
the  Sunset,  Hewitt-Gabriel,  573;  Aged 
Minister's  Prayer,  Whittlesley,  574; 
Scatter  the  Flowers  Now,  Martin,  574; 
The  Sun  is  Rising,  576 

15.  Index 577 


THE  HAPPY  MAN 

HENRY  ALBERT  COLLINS 

"The  Life  Annuity  Man" 


"Well,  it^s  just  no  use,  nephew,  I'm  utterly  discouraged. 
Sanitarium  treatment  may  be  beneficial  in  some  cases,  but  it 
certainly  aggravates  my  condition.  I  was  ill  when  we  came 
here,  and  seeing  the  lame,  the  halt  and  the  afflicted  of  every 
nation  under  heaven  is  getting  on  my  nerves.  Why,  I  never 
knew  before  that  there  were  so  many  afflicted  people  in  the 
world.'' 

"But  you  know,  uncle,  you've  only  been  here  a  week.  The 
doctors  say  that  the  conditions  here  are  apt  at  first  to  affect 
everybody  in  this  way,  but  those  who  persevere  in  these  treat- 
ments usually  get  well  or,  at  least,  obtain  relief.  Besides,  if 
you  do  not  stay  here,  where  can  you  go  ?  You  have  tried  all 
sorts  of  physicians  and  many  health  resorts  without  getting 
much  relief  and  home  is  no  longer  home  to  you  since  auntie 
left  us." 

"That  is  true,  nephew,  and  life  is  getting  to  be  intolerable. 
During  the  best  years  of  my  life  I  was  a  devotee  to  business. 
The  Genii  of  the  Arabian  fairy  tales  were  no  more  slaves  to 
the  wonderful  lamp  than  I  have  been  to  my  business.  I  wor- 
shiped in  season  and  out  of  season  the  great  American  god. 
Business.  The  goal  of  my  ambition  was  wealth,  and  I've 
reached  it.  When  I  should  be  enjoying  the  fruits  of  my  labors 
I  have  neither  the  capacity  nor  health  to  do  so.  The  wise  man 
was  right  when  he  said,  'Human  life  is  vanity  and  a  striving 
after  wind.'  Why,  I've  not  seen  a  happy  man  for  five  years, 
and  I  don't  ever  expect  to  see  another  one." 

"Well,  there  is  at  least  one  happy  man  in  this  institution, 
uncle.  I  met  him  yesterday  and  I've  had  my  eye  on  him  ever 
since." 

"Oh,  I  suppose  that  it's  some  young  fellow  like  yourself 
who  does  not  know  what  the  real  problems  of  life  are." 

505 


506  THE  EETIRED  MINISTER 

"No,  uncle,  his  hair  is  as  gray  as  yours  and  liis  step  has 
lost  the  spring  of  youth,  but  his  face  reflects  the  sunshine 
which  is  within,  and  his  laugh  rings  true.  I  think  that  he  is 
certainly  the  happiest  man  I  ever  saw.  In  fact  the  attendants 
here  dub  him,  'The  Happy  Man !' " 

"He  must  be  the  proprietor  and  sees  his  institution  full  of 
wrecks  of  humanity  and  hears  of  men  and  women  who  are 
burning  their  candle  at  both  ends,  and  who  in  time  are  likely 
to  come  here.  Of  course  he  is  happy.  He  has  a  fine  prospect 
of  laying  by  something  for  a  'rainy  day.^ " 

"No,  uncle,  he  is  one  of  the  patients  and  has  been  here  sev- 
eral months.  He  has  kind  words  and  a  smile  for  everybody. 
He  seems  to  be  perfectly  happy.  It  does  a  fellow  good  to  hear 
him  talk,  and  you  know  the  wise  man  said,  'A  merry  heart 
doeth  good  like  a  medicine.^ " 

"By  George !  nephew,  I'll  have  to  get  acquainted  with  'The 
Happy  Man.'    What's  his  name  ?" 

"That  I  cannot  say.  I  do  not  know  his  name,  neither 
whence  he  comes,  nor  his  line  of  business." 

"Well,  I'll  have  to  get  acquainted  with  him.  He  reminds 
me  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  story  of  the  Eastern  potentate  who 
was  afflicted  with  melancholia.  After  he  had  suffered  many 
things  at  the  hands  of  his  doctors  without  avail,  he  took  his 
mother-in-law's  advice,  to  travel  until  he  found  a  perfectly 
happy  man,  and  to  borrow  and  wear  his  shirt.  By  so  doing  he 
would  absorb  happiness  and  his  melancholia  would  fly  away. 
He  traxeled  throughout  many  lands  in  vain,  for  everyone  he 
met  had  troubles  of  his  own.  Coming  at  last  to  Donnybrook 
Fair  he  saw  the  o1)ject  of  his  search — a  carefree,  hap])y 
man.  He  commanded  his  servants  to  seize  him,  strip  him 
and  secure  his  precious  shirt.  But  alas !  the  ha})py  man 
had  no  shirt.  I  wonder  if  your  'Happy  Man'  wears  a  shirt. 
If  he  does  I  would  like  to  either  beg,  buy,  borrow  or  steal 
it." 

"You  had  better  try  your  luck.  Uncle,  and  if  you  are  as  good 
a  trader  as  your  competitors  say  you  are,  you  will  have  no 
difficidty  in  securing  his  magic  garment." 

"Well,  bring  him  to  me,  nephew.  I  would  like  to  see  one 
happy  man  in  this  institution." 

"Let's  go  out  on  the  veranda,  uncle.  A  while  ago  I  saw 
him  taking  a'  sun  bath  out  there.    I  know  him  well  enough  to 


THE  HAPPY  MAX  507 

give  you  a  sanitarium  introduction,  and  I  am  sure  that  lie 
will  1)6  glad  to  meet  you/^ 

They  found  the  "Hapi)y  Man,"  and  the  nephew  excused 
himself,  going  to  the  gymnasium. 

The  uncle  seated  himself  beside  "The  Happy  Man,"  and 
began  questioning  him.  He  said,  "I  have  been  told  that  the 
helpers  at  this  sanitarium  call  you,  *^The  Happy  Man.'  I  don't 
know  what  they  call  me,  but  if  they  should  call  me  ^The  Mis- 
erable ^lan,'  they  would  not  miss  the  mark.'* 

"My  dear  sir,  why  should  a  man  be  miserable  in  such  a 
beautiful  world  as  this?" 

"xls  for  its  beauty,  I  have  no  eye  to  see  it.  Wherever  I  look 
I  see  misery,  and  whenever  I  listen  I  hear  moans.  The  world 
calls  me  a  successful  man.  Men  usually  found  it  hard  to 
overreach  me  in  a  business  way,  and  I  have  secured  a  goodly 
portion  of  this  world's  goods,  and  that's  the  world's  idea  of 
success.  In  fact  it  was  my  own  idea  until  recently.  My  wife 
is  dead,  I  have  no  children  living  to  inherit  my  wealth  or  to 
perpetuate  my  name,  and  I  have  few  personal  friends.  I 
have  two  houses  furnished  with  all  the  comforts  of  life,  but 
no  home.  I  lost  my  health  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth  and  now 
I  am  of  all  men  the  most  miserable." 

"But,  sir,  you  have  a  nephew  who  seems  to  be  a  fine  young 
man.     I  know  that  he  is  very  fond  of  you." 

"Oh  yes,  he  may  be  in  a  way,  but  he  has  no  business  abil- 
ity. If  I  should  leave  him  my  money  I  can  already  see  his 
finish.  He  would  not  only  lose  all  the  money  but  would  ruin 
himself.  Let  me  tell  you  a  little  of  his  history.  He  was  a 
clerk  in  a  large  commission  house.  One  day  he  came  to  me 
and  said,  'Uncle,  I  have  a  chance  to  buy  out  the  business  of 
my  employer  who  wants  to  retire.  There  is  another  yomig 
man  connected  with  the  house  who  is  willing  to  put  in  twenty 
thousand  dollars  if  I  will  put  in  fifty-five  thousand  dollars. 
That  will  give  me  the  controlling  interest  in  a  splendid  busi- 
ness. Will  you  please  let  me  have  the  money?'  I  knew  that 
he  was  a  good,  clean,  young  fellow  and  without  any  question 
gave  him  the  fifty-five  thousand  dollars.  In  less  than  three 
months  he  "svas  back  again  and  asked  me  to  give  him  twenty 
thousand  dollars  so  that  he  could  buy  out  his  partner's  inter- 
est. I  gave  it  to  him,  and  it  was  not  long  until  he  wanted 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  more  to  make   some   improve- 


508  THE  EETlRED  MII^ISTEK 

ments  in  his  place  of  business.  I  let  him  have  the  money. 
AVhen  he  asked  me  for  another  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
I  began  to  think  it  was  time  for  me  to  investigate  and  under 
my  questioning  he  made  a  clean  breast  of  the  matter.  He 
had  been  speculating,  and  had  gotten  on  the  wrong  side  of 
the  market  and  had  lost  all  the  money. 

"So  my  money  is  not  doing  me  much  good  and  has  not  done 
my  nephew  any  good.  I'm  here  to  be  treated  and  I  have  some 
little  hope  of  being  cured,  but  even  were  I  well  again  I  could 
not  go  into  business  with  the  old  time  vim  and  energy,  for  my 
illusions  have  perished.  Yes,  I  am  truly  a  miserable  old 
man." 

"My  dear  sir,"  said  "The  Happy  Man,"  "your  case  interests 
me  greatly.  In  many  respects  it  is  like  my  own.  I,  too,  lost 
my  health  through  too  close  application  to  business.  My 
children  passed  away  in  their  childhood.  My  wife  and  I  are 
growing  old,  but  notwithstanding  that  fact  we  are  happy  be- 
cause we  have  found  our  mission  in  life." 

"May  I  ask  what  is  your  mission  ?" 

"Certainly.  You  said  the  helpers  of  this  sanitarium  call 
me,  'The  Happy  Man.'  I  am  more  often  called,  'The  Annuity 
Man.'    My  mission  is  to  preach  the  gospel  of  life  annuities." 

"Oh,  I  see,  you  sell  life  annuities." 

"No,  sir.  I  have  nothing  to  sell,  but  I  have  bought  some 
Life  Annuity  Bonds.  My  mission  in  life  is  to  teach  prospec- 
tive annuitants  the  value  of  these  bonds.  When  I  persuade  a 
man  to  invest  in  Life  Annuity  Bonds  I  feel  that  I  have  con- 
ferred a  great  favor  upon  him  which  he  can  only  repay  by 
enlisting  others  in  this  excellent  work.  The  old  proverb  says, 
^A  man  cannot  eat  his  goose  and  have  it,  too,'  but  the  Life 
Annuity  system  enables  us  to  do  that  very  thing.  We  can 
eat  our  goose,  and  have  it,  too,  when  we  invest  our  money  in 
Life  Annuity  Bonds." 

"Go  on.    I  begin  to  see  what  you  are  driving  at." 

"The  Happy  Man"  continued,  "If  a  man  is  a  true  Chris- 
tian, God  is  a  silent  partner  in  all  of  his  business  enterprises. 
He  is,  as  St.  Paul  says,  ^A  laborer  together  with  God,  God's 
husbandry,  and  God's  building.'  If  we  are  His  building  He 
ought  to  dwell  in  us.  If  we  are  His  husbandry  we  should 
bring  to  Him  the  increase.  To  be  a  co-laborer  with  Him  is 
man's  greatest  privilege,  and  it  is  my  desire  to  avail  myself  of 


THE  HAPPY  MAN  509 

it  to  the  utmost.  By  buying  Life  Annuity  Bonds  of  Christian 
institutions,  I  insure  my  own  living;  by  preaching  the  gospel 
of  Life  Annuities  to  others  I  perpetuate  my  influence.  There- 
fore, you  see  that  I  am  cooperating  with  Him  in  building  His 
kingdom  on  earth  now,  and  my  money  invested  in  Christian 
institutions  will  continue  the  work  after  I  have  gone  home. 
If  you  would  find  true  happiness  go  thou  and  do  likewise. 

"I  have  no  patent  on  this  plan  and  would  like  to  see  you 
give  it  a  fair  trial.  Would  you  ^put  on  immortality'  while  here 
on  earth,  then  put  your  work  and  your  money  into  institu- 
tions designed  to  help  mankind." 

The  miserable  man  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  shifted  his 
chair  as  he  answered,  '^Oh,  that's  like  life  insurance.  I  carry 
policies  in  several  first-class  life  insurance  companies,  but 
I  can't  say  I  ever  got  much  happiness  out  of  them.  The  only 
reason  I  continue  to  pay  premiums  on  them  is  that  it  is  the 
only  way  I  can  escape  from  them  without  great  loss.  I  must 
pay  until  I  die,  and  I  must  die  to  win.  If  that's  your  recipe 
for  happiness  it  don't  take  much  to  make  you  happy." 

"Xo,  sir,  you  are  mistaken.  Life  Annuity  is  very  different 
and  very  much  better  than  life  insurance.  When  a  man 
insures  his  life  he  does  it  usually  so  that  those  dependent 
upon  him  may  be  assured  of  an  income  after  he  is  dead.  Life 
insurance  tends  to  shorten  life,  because  a  man  who  loses  his 
health  or  fails  in  business  and  cannot  keep  up  the  payments 
on  his  policies  is  often  tempted  to  commit  suicide  so  that  his 
family  may  get  his  insurance  before  the  policy  lapses.  You 
rarely  pick  up  a  newspaper  without  reading  of  some  one  being 
murdered  for  his  or  her  life  insurance  money.  This  is  the 
great  difference  between  life  insurance  and  Life  Annuities. 
Life  insurance  shortens  one's  life;  Life  Annuities  lengthen 
it  because  in  the  life  insurance  game  you  must  die  to  win, 
but  in  case  of  Life  Annuities  you  have  to  live  to  ivin.  A  Life 
Annuity  Bond  does  not  insure  your  life  but  it  insures  your 
living,  because  you  must  live  to  win,  and  that  tends  to  pro- 
long your  life." 

"Oh,  I  see,  sir,  there  is  a  difference  between  insuring  your 
life  and  insuring  your  living.  I  know  that  life  insurance  has 
in  it  the  danger  you  refer  to.  I  knew  a  young  lawyer,  a  bright 
manly  fellow,  in  my  home  city.  He  had  a  wife  and  three  fine 
children  and  a  splendid  practice.     He  got  the  political  bee 


510  TllK  jn^]TIi;KI)  MIXJSTER 

ill  his  Ijonnet,  became  a  candidate  for  governor  and  made  a 
strenuous  and  expensive  campaign  for  the  nomination,  but 
was  defeated.  His  d(>feat  brought  on  a  nervous  attack  and  in 
a  moment  of  delirium  he  committed  suicide.  His  life  was 
heavily  insured,  and  suicide  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  only 
way  for  him  to  provide  a  living  for  his  family.  I  see  that 
life  insurance  often  has  a  tendency  to  shorten  life.  You  said 
that  Life  iVnnuity  Bonds  lengthen  life.    Can  you  prove  it?" 

"Certainly.  Macaulay  said,  'Annuitants  are  7iotoriously 
long  lived.'  The  reasons  for  this  are  obvious.  The  annuitant 
has  insured  his  living.  He  is  free  from  the  labor  and  cares 
that  are  incident  to  making  a  livelihood  in  these  days  of  keen 
competition,  hence  he  can  live  his  life  on  natural  lines,  which 
tends  to  prolong  his  days." 

"This  is  a  new  business  proposition  to  me  and  it  is  cer- 
tainly interesting  and  worth  looking  into.  Tell  me  more 
about  this  Life  Annuity  business.    How  old  is  it?" 

"About  twenty-five  hundred  years,"  replied  "The  Happy 
Man,"  "but  it  is  only  during  the  past  one  hundred  years  that 
the  business  has  assumed  its  present  magnitude.  The  system 
is  older  than  all  forms  of  life  insurance.  It  is  on  a  strictly 
scientific  basis,  and  is  as  reliable  as  anything  human  can  be." 

"What  induced  you  to  put  your  money  into  life  annuities  ?" 

"My  wife  and  I  for  many  years  have  been  interested  in 
benevolent  Christian  organizations.  We  have,  from  time  to 
time,  given  a  few  dollars  to  worthy  institutions.  Having  a 
small  income  and  being  in  poor  health  I  was  not  able  to  earn 
much  money,  so  could  not  give  largely  to  any  one  object.  We 
needed  the  interest  from  our  principal  for  our  daily  needs. 
When  the  life  annuity  system,  which  had  been  adopted  by 
certain  organizations,  was  brought  to  our  attention  we  found 
that  we  were  able  to  place  our  money  with  them  and  be 
assured  of  our  interest  being  promptly  paid.  The  first  hun- 
dred-dollar Life  Annuity  Bond  whicli  we  bought  proved  so 
satisfactory  that  since  that  time  v/e  have  placed  nearly  all 
our  money  out  on  Life  Annuity  Bonds." 

"Who  are  issuing  these  Life  Annuity  Bonds?" 

"Well,  I  have  Life  Annuity  Bonds  in  Christian  colleges, 
missionary  societies,  church  Imilding  societies,  hospitals,  or- 
phanages, and  homes  for  the  aged,  and  similar  organizations 
connected  with  the  Baptist,  Christian,  Congregational,  Meth- 


THE  HAPPY  MAN  511 

odist  and  Presbyterian  denominations.  I  invested  money 
with  them  after  carefully  investigating-  their  business  methods 
and  their  work,  and  thus  know  more  about  their  lines  of 
good  ^\'ork  than  i)ersons  who  have  made  no  such  investiga- 
tions.   1  am  interested  in  their  work  for  God  and  humanity.^' 

"So  you  give  them  the  money  in  a  lump  sum  and  then 
they  pay  you  a  regular  income  as  long  as  you  or  your  wife 
shall  live?    What  becomes  of  the  investment  at  your  death?" 

With  a  bright  smile  on  his  face  and  a  cheerful  tone  in  his 
voice  "The  Happy  Man"  replied,  "It  goes  on  doing  good 
while  I  am  resting  in  heaven.  That's  what  the  Bible  means 
when  it  says,  'They  rest  from  their  labors;  and  tlieir  works 
do  follow  tliern/  And  that's  just  what  I  mean  by  eating 
my  goose  and  having  it  too.  There  are  Methodist  institutions 
for  the  care  of  Aged  Ministers  which  are  holding  intact  to-day 
moneys  which  were  given  by  men  who  'rested  from  their 
la])ors'  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  their  works  follow  them  as 
dividends  to  help  Christ's  Ministers  to-day;  and  such  works 
will  continue  to  follow  them  as  long  as  Methodism  and  the 
Eepublic  exist.  The  Life  Annuity  Bond  is  not  only  the  best 
bond  in  the  market  but,  in  fact,  it  is  the  only  bond  worth 
having.  My  Life  Annuity  Bonds  pay  me  dividends  in  two 
Avorlds.  That's  why  I  am  'The  Happy  Man'  in  spite  of  poor 
health." 

"But  these  organizations  can't  pay  you  any  very  high  rate 
of  interest  and  have  anything  left  for  their  work,  and  when 
you  pay  the  taxes  on  these  annuity  bonds  there  will  not  be 
very  much  profit  left  for  you,  either." 

"That's  another  good  thing  about  Life  Annuity  Bonds. 
They  pay  a  very  satisfactory  rate  of  income,  and  there  are 
no  taxes,  commissions  or  medical  examinations.  The  organi- 
zation invests  the  money  carefully,  assumes  all  the  risk  and 
does  all  the  work.  I  get  the  interest  as  long  as  I  have  any 
need  of  it,  and  then  the  money  goes  into  the  treasury  of  these 
organizations  and  continues  to  do  good  work  as  long  as  the 
world  endures.     How  could  one  make  a  better  investment?" 

"You  said  these  institutions  you  selected  were  all  safe  and 
sound,  now  why  did  you  jmt  your  money  into  so  many  organi- 
zations? Why  did  you  not  pick  out  the  one  you  liked  best 
and  put  all  the  money  into  that  one?" 

"When  I  was  a  boy  1  was  told,  'it  is  not  wise  to  put  all 


512  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

your  eggs  in  one  basket.'  I  believe  that  Christianity  is  not 
confined  to  denominational  lines.  We  are  told  to  'Sow  beside 
all  waters/  and  as  1  am  interested  in  all  these  various  causes 
I  want  to  have  a  share  in  their  work." 

"That's  a  connnon  sense  way  of  looking  at  the  matter. 
Whom  do  you  advise  to  invest  in  Life  Annuity  Bonds?" 

"Everyone  who  can  afford  to  do  so,  but  more  especially 
men  like  you  and  me.  I  have  known  men  who  were  once 
shrewd  business  men,  but  who  lost  all  their  property  in  their 
old  age,  and  died  paupers.  The  clock  does  not  always  strike 
twelve.  Neither  is  a  man  always  at  his  best  intellectually. 
He  may  have  made  a  fortune  when  his  powers  were  at  their 
best,  but  has  lost  it  when  his  powers  began  to  decline,  and 
courts  will  often  pronounce  such  a  man  incompetent  to  do 
business  or  even  to  make  a  will.  I  once  knew  a  man  and  his 
wife,  farmers,  who  began  their  married  life  without  any  of 
this  world's  goods,  but  by  the  time  they  were  sixty  years  old 
by  diligent  work  amid  many  hardships  were  able  to  pay  for  a 
splendid  farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  They  had 
two  children,  a  daughter  who  never  married  and  a  son  who 
left  home  and  drifted  to  the  city.  Soon  after  the  farm  was 
clear  of  debt  the  old  folks  moved  to  the  city  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  their  days  in  comfort  and  ease.  The  farmer 
had  never  handled  large  sums  of  money  and  had  no  experi- 
ence in  making  investments,  and  so  fell  an  easy  prey  of  un- 
scrupulous men  who  swindled  him  out  of  all  his  money.  How 
much  better  it  would  have  been  for  him  if  he  had  put  his 
money  into  Life  Annuity  Bonds  with  some  reliable  organiza- 
tions. It  would  not  only  have  been  a  good  thing  for  himself, 
wife  and  daughter,  but  he  would  not  now  be  sleeping  in  a 
pauper's  grave  at  the  county  poor  farm." 

"My  friend,"  said  "The  Miserable  Man,"  "I  do  not  wish 
to  pry  into  your  business  affairs,  but  I  do  want  to  ask  you 
an  important  question.  In  case  you  had  more  money  to 
invest  would  you  put  it  into  Life  Annuity  Bonds  ?" 

"Yes,  indeed,  I  would.  That  is  what  we  are  doing  every 
year  with  the  surplus  of  our  income.  My  wife  is  just  as 
anxious  as  I  to  place  our  money  with  these  worthy  organiza- 
tions during  our  lifetime  so  that  we  may  see  the  enlarged 
work  which  they  are  able  to  do  because  we  have  lent  a  hand 
in  their  good  works. 


THE  HAPPY  MAlsT  513 

^'Now  let  me  ask  you  a  question.  Have  you  ever  talked 
with  other  people  who  are  holding  Life  Annuity  Bonds?" 

"No,  sir.     I  never  have." 

"Then  you  have  missed  a  great  pleasure,  because  it  is  a 
fact  that  the  most  enthusiastic  friends  of  the  Life  Annuity 
Bonds  are  those  who  have  tested  them." 

"I  thank  you  for  this  information,  and  now  may  I  ask, 
do  you  know  whether  there  is  any  way  by  which  I  can  provide 
an  income  for  my  nieces  and  nephews  after  I  am  dead?  Two 
of  my  nieces  are  sorely  afflicted  and  the  brother  of  this  nephew 
has  no  better  business  judgment  than  himself." 

"Yes,  sir.  There  are  Life  Annuity  Bonds  from  one  hun- 
dred dollars  and  up  which  will  suit  all  classes  and  conditions 
of  people." 

The  uncle  said,  "Since  I  lost  my  health  I  have  been  of 
no  service  to  myself  nor,  to  tell  the  truth,  to  anyone  else.  But 
since  talking  with  you  I  have  gained  a  new  viewpoint  of  the 
possibilities  and  responsibilities  of  life,  and  I  am  glad  that 
it  is  not  too  late  for  me  to  be  of  some  service  in  the  world." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  so.  Of  course  you  can  be  of 
service.  Besides  investing  in  Life  Annuity  Bonds  for  yourself, 
nieces  and  nephews,  you  can  be  the  means  of  inducing  other 
people  to  put  their  money  into  Life  Annuity  Bonds." 

"Yes,  indeed,  I  can.  I  know  several  persons  who  should 
provide  for  oiie  or  more  of  their  relatives  or  friends  on  this 
plan.  I'll  be  so  glad  when  I  am  well  enough  to  go  and  see 
some  of  these  people  and  tell  them  what  a  comfort  and 
pleasure  Life  Annuity  Bonds  give  the  holder.  You  said  a 
prospective  annuitant  had  to  apply  for  these  bonds.  Will  you 
please  tell  me  how  to  get  a  number  of  them?" 

"Indeed,  I  will.  Wherever  I  go  I  find  that  the  annuity 
system  appeals  to  people  like  yourself.  They  take  a  new, 
personal  interest  in  the  organizations  which  have  adopted  this 
plan  for  securing  money.  But  you  will  have  to  excuse  me 
now,  for  I  see  my  nurse  is  coming  to  take  me  to  the  treatment 
rooms.  I'll  see  you  right  after  my  treatment.  Meanwhile 
you  might  take  down  the  address  of  the  Eev.  J.  B.  Hingeley, 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 
ants, 1018  South  Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago," 

Note — For  names  of  organizations  which  issue  Life  Annuity  Bonds 
see  page  2<S9. 


514  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

"IS  HE  WORTH  IT?" 

In  one  of  onr  l*rcsbytorian  cxclianges .  there  is  a  display 
advertisement  headed  "Js  He  Wortli  It?"  which  goes  on  to 
say:  "One  of  our  aged  ministers,  in  answer  to  a  letter  from 
the  Board  of  Relief  and  Sustentation,  writes  that  lie  has  been 
in  the  Presl)yterian  ministry  fifty-eight  years;  has  sent  his 
three  sons  into  that  ministry;  his  average  salary  has  been  less 
than  $450;  he  is  now  eighty-eight  years  old,  and  receives 
from  the  Board  $150  a  year,  though  entitled  to  $400. 

"Is  he  worth  it?"  asks  the  paper,  and  continues,  "When 
you  have  answered  that  question,  ask  another,  75  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  luortJty  of  him  and  Jiis  ministry  f  " 

It  is  some  relief  to  us,  as  Methodists,  to  find  that  other 
Churches  are  in  the  same  situation  and  under  similar  condem- 
nation with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  relation  to 
its  Retired  Ministers.  Certainly  there  must  be  an  awakening 
of  conscience  in  all  Churches  in  regard  to  this.  It  is  not 
charity  or  sentimentality,  but  simple  justice  and  humanity. 
Our  laymen  must  see  the  question  in  the  broad  light  of  doing 
the  right  and  square  thing  by  men  who  have  made  every 
sacrifice  for  the  Church,  the  higher  life  of  the  Nation,  and 
Christ's  cause  on  earth. 

In  answer  to  the  question,  "Is  he  worth  it?"  there  should 
be  a  unanimous  and  emphatic  reply,  "Yes." — Western  Chris- 
tian Advocate. 


HOPE  FOR  THE  SUPERANNUATES 

Every  Methodist  preacher,  old  or  young,  and  every  friend 
of  the  preachers  has  reason  to  rejoice  over  the  really  great 
and  successful  efforts  put  forth  by  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  to  provide  a  comfortable  support  for  the  Confer- 
ence Claimants.  Better  provision  for  the  old  preachers  will 
put  extra  vim  into  the  younger  and  relieve  them  of  painful 
anxiety  about  their  own  future.  It  will  also  remove  one 
cause  of  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  young  men  who  feel  called 
to  the  ministry  and  yet  have  felt  unwilling  to  devote  their 
lives  to  a  service  which  pointed  to  an  old  age  of  poverty. 


OLD  PREACHER'S 
SOLILOQUY 

THE  REV.  C.  C.  BROWN,  D.D. 


It  was  a  little  home  in  the  country,  three  miles  from  a 
thriving  county  seat  town.  Sometimes  the  Sunday  bells 
could  be  heard  across  the  hills.  A  few  plain  pieces  of  fur- 
niture were  set  against  the  walls  of  the  living-room,  and  in 
one  corner  were  two  shelves  of  books,  resting  on  a  box.  The 
frost  had  already  nipped  the  green  foliage,  and  the  air  was 
sharp  and  biting.  An  old  man,  his  feet  in  carpet  slippers, 
sat  beside  a  table  on  which  a  lamp  was  burning.  Close  to 
the  hearth,  in  an  easy  chair,  sat  his  wife,  her  hair  as  white 
as  the  cap  that  crowned  her  head.  A  widowed  daughter,  the 
sole  dependence  of  the  aged  couple,  was  stirring  about  in 
the  pantry  and  kitchen,  getting  ready  tea  and  bread  for  the 
coming  meal. 

"Wife,  is  there  food  enough  ?"  the  old  man  asked. 

*T  hope  so,"  she  replied ;  "but  even  if  there  is  not,  we  must 
not  complain.     In  some  way  or  other,  the  Lord  will  provide.'' 

"0,  I  am  not  complaining — not  complaining.  I  will  not 
now,  in  these  last  days,  go  back  on  the  teaching  of  my  whole 
life.  I  spent  many  years  trying  to  abate  the  anxieties  of 
the  peo|)le  to  whom  I  gave  the  gospel,  telling  them  to  trust 
and  not  be  afraid.  Now  I  am  trying  to  practice  what  once  I 
preached." 

The  old  man's  mind  and  tongue  were  set  going,  and  looking 
up  toward  a  faded  picture  above  the  mantelpiece,  he  said : 

"But  it  does  seem  hard — hard  to  have  come  to  want  in 
old  age,  to  ])e  turned  out  on  the  grass  because  no  longer  able 
to  work.  Sometimes  I  wonder  if  it  is  really  a  sin  to  grow  old. 
I  call  (Jod  to  witness" — and  his  eyes  filled  up — "that  for  fifty 
years  in  the  ministry,  I  did  not  spare  myself.  People  some- 
times said  of  me,  as  they  said  of  others,  that  I  was  preaching 
for  money.    But  where  is  it  ?    Not  even  a  home  of  my  own— 

515 


516  THE  KETIEED  MINISTER 

110  bonds  nor  stocks,  nothing  at  all,  but  rather  I  am  daily 
faced  by  the  vexing  problem  of  bread.  I  remember  now 
some  work  1  did — the  churches  I  built  in  the  face  of  many 
trials.  One  at  Deep  Creek,  one  in  Mayburn,  one  at  Oak  Hill, 
one  at  Lay  ton,  besides  those  years  of  mission  work  in  the 
lower  country,  where  the  fever  took  me  and  laid  me  up  so 
long.  That  sickness  was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  It  does 
seem — now  that  I  am  in  want — that  I  ought  to  have  gotten 
some  sort  of  pay  for  all  of  this  work.  In  those  days,  when 
I  gave  away  half  of  my  living,  and  never  thought  to  lay  up 
a  cent,  I  was  only  striving  to  accomplish  what  was  before 
me.  I  did  not  look  far  enough  ahead  maybe.  Surely  I  did 
not  see  the  coming  of  any  day  like  this,  when  you  or  I  should 
have  to  wonder  if  we  could  get  bread  for  another  day.  I  have 
never  known  till  now  what  these  simple  words  in  the  prayer 
meant,  ^Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.'  And  then  the 
children — " 

"Now,  dear,''  interposed  the  wife,  "why  lament  the  children 
that  God  took  ?    Maybe  they  went  away  to  escape  evil  days." 

"0  you  misunderstood  me!  I  am  not  referring  to  the 
children  of  our  flesh  and  blood.  I  gave  them  to  God  long  ago, 
and  I  don't  think  that  I  ever  have  had  a  rebellious  thought 
against  Him  for  taking  them.  But  my  children  in  the  gospel 
— I  am  talking  of  them.  Where  are  they?  How  many  have 
told  me,  weeping  for  joy,  that  they  would  never  forget  me ! 
Do  you  remember  that  meeting  at  Deep  Creek  in  the  summer 
of  '70?  What  a  time  of  refreshing  that  was!  The  easiest 
thing  I  had  to  do  was  to  preach  and  tell  the  story.  And  it 
was  just  a  year  later  that  we  had  the  great  revival  at  Oak 
Hill.  And  then  think  of  the  long  list  of  names  of  those 
who  came  into  the  Church  through  the  long  years ! 

"Now  that  we  have  come  to  this  sore  strait,  is  it  not  natural 
for  me  to  ask  for  my  spiritual  children,  and  to  demand  some 
help  from  them?  Can  it  be  that  they  have  forgotten  me? 
Paul,  you  know,  seemed  to  think  he  had  some  claim  on 
Timothy,  because  he  was  his  son  in  the  gospel,  and  it  does 
look  to  me  as  if  my  children  should  remember  their  old,  worn- 
out  father.  But  they  do  not,  and  I  think  I  can  now  see  the 
end.  If  my  thin  blood  refuses  to  flow,  and  I  go  down  before 
long,  as  surely  I  must,  I  want  to  be  buried  over  yonder  at 
Oak  Hill,  where  I  labored  and  spent  the  very  best  years  of  my 


OLD  PREACHER'S  SOLILOQUY  517 

life.  I  guess  they  will  remember  me  when  you  carry  my 
body  back,  and  will  want  to  put  flowers  on  my  coffin  or  on 
my  grave.  Yes,  I  hear  them  now  singing  about  the  old  soldier 
aud  the  warfare  through  which  he  passed.  But,  wife,  flowers 
on  my  grave  or  in  my  stiff  fingers  are  not  as  good  as  bread  on 
an  old  man's  tal)le,  and  warm  clothes  on  his  back  these  winter 
days.  To  be  alone  in  the  world  is  not  the  worst  solitude. 
The  worst  is  that  which  we  are  sufi'eri ng  now — the  sense  that 
we  are  forgotten  and  that  nobody  cares  for  us,  because  we  are 
old  and  cannot  work  any  more.  I  know  it  is  true  that  our 
life  should  be  like  the  days,  more  beautiful  in  the  evening, 
or  like  the  summer,  aglow  with  promise,  or  the  autumn,  rich 
with  golden  sheaves,  when  good  deeds  and  good  works  have 
ripened  on  the  field.  But  want  may  beget  laitterness,  and  1 
am  afraid  I  will  become  bitter. 

"If  I  preached  for  money  where  is  it?  I  had  the  burden 
on  me  of  caring  for  hundreds  of  people,  visiting  them  in  their 
sickness,  looking  them  up  when  they  strayed  from  the  church, 
marrying  the  living  and  burying  the  dead.  I  had  to  keep 
the  Sunday  schools  alive,  and  work  up  the  missionary  enter- 
prises, and  I  held  inquiry  meetings,  and  wrote  letters,  and 
sat  day  and  night  beside  the  sick — sometimes  only  to  hold 
the  hand  of  the  dying,  who  said  they  wanted  me  with  them 
to  the  end.  I  tried  to  do  it  all.  I  followed  many  of  them 
till  their  feet  touched  Jordan,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
love  I  bore  for  my  children  in  the  gospel  would  have  made 
me  willing  to  go  on  over  Jordan  with  them.  It  was  my  joy 
to  put  their  hands  into  the  hands  of  Jesus,  and  bid  them 
goodby  for  His  better  keeping. 

"Then  there  were  the  letters  I  had  to  WTite,  the  begfffino: 
I  had  to  do,  the  weak  churches  to  visit,  the  quarrels  to  adjust, 
the  poor  to  feed,  the  erring  ones  to  reclaim,  the  visitors  to 
entertain.  I  don't  know,  wife,  how  we  stood  it  all.  But  I 
have  nothing  to  regret.  I  would  not  undo  any  of  it.  I  only 
wish  I  had  been  stronger  and  braver,  and  that  the  Master 
had  loaded  on  more  for  me  to  carry.  But  to  be  as  we  are 
now  after  the  work  is  over — this  is  the  pinch.  The  house 
not  ours,  the  land  a  stranger's,  the  pantry  empty,  our  only 
child  a  servant  and  cook.  I  don't  think  God  will  censure 
me  for  asking,  where  are  my  children?  Jesus  cleansed  ten 
lepers,  and  when  only  one  returned  to  give  thanks,  he  asked, 


518  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

^Where  arc  the  nine?'  Ah,  Master,  it  makes  the  rough  path 
a  little  smoother,  now  that  I  see  thou  hast  even  gone  this 
way  before  me.  I  am  not  alone  in  knowing  the  dagger-thrust 
of  ingratitude.'' 

Just  then  a  clear  voice,  in  undertone,  sounded  out  from  the 
dining-room  as  the  cheerful  daughter  sang: 

Must    Jesus    bear    the    cross    alone, 

And  all  the  world  go  free? 
No,  there's  a  cross  for  every  one. 

And  there's  a  cross  for  me. 


"Yes,  yes,''  the  old  man  said ;  "there's  a  cross  for  me." 

In  the  corner  under  a  bookshelf  was  a  box  with  a  hinged 
top,  and  upon  this  the  old  man  fastened  his  eyes.  That 
box  contained  his  sermons,  but  for  two  years  it  had  not  been 
opened.  He  had  no  use  for  them  now.  He  gazed  steadily 
for  a  few  moments,  and  then  said : 

"There's  the  old  box  of  sermons !  What  a  record  of  the 
history  of  a  human  mind  and  heart!  The  mind  was  small, 
maybe,  but  the  heart — bless  God  ! — was  large.  The  heart- 
beats that  are  in  those  sermons  will  never  be  counted  in  this 
world.  My  hope,  my  love,  my  warmest  aspirations  toward 
God  were  all  poured  out  in  those  sermons.  It  was  honest 
labor.  However  faulty  and  imperfect  my  life,  I  was  pure  and 
honest  when  I  wrote  those  sermons.  They  may  be  nothing 
but  ashes  now  for  others,  but  once  they  contained  all  the 
fire  of  my  being.  Some  of  them  were  born  in  joy,  some  in 
agony.  Some  hung  struggling  on  my  pen,  some  flowed  like 
a  swelling  stream  of  fire.  Some  of  them  flamed  in  the  pulpit, 
some  of  them  were  dead  and  cold  and  languishing.  But  there 
they  are — fifteen  hundred  weeks  of  my  life  packed  away  in 
a  box.  Maybe  it  would  be  good  to  bury  them.  I  think  I 
could  preach  their  funeral.  Soul-thrilling  memories,  let  them 
rest ! 

"The  village  church  bell  is  ringing  in  my  ear.  I  can  see 
the  people  crossing  the  green.  I  am  once  more  in  the  old 
pulpit.  There  before  me  are  the  forms  I  love.  A  soft  har- 
monious song  fills  the  air,  and  I  climb  up  on  it  as  on  a  ladder 
to  talk  with  God,  while  they  sing.  Then  the  reading  and 
prayer,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  down  upon  us  all.     I  am 


OLD  rJIP]ACHEirS  SOLILOQUY  519 

living  it  all  over  again.  I  see  Brother  Bray  ton  sitting  there 
on  the  corner  of  the  first  bench,  weeping,  and  dear  old  Sister 
Dunn — her  eyes  float  around  in  a  sea  of  delight/' 

The  old  man  had  arisen  to  his  feet,  half  staggering.  Eub- 
bing  his  hands  across  his  eyes,  he  continued : 

"Well,  maybe  this  is  age  and  weakness,  and  reason  may  be 
going;  but  these  thoughts  are  worth  to  me  all  the  toil  and 
pain  I  have  ever  endured.  I  know  I  am  poor,  but  I  have  bread 
to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of.  Memories  of  those  days  surge 
through  my  brain,  and  I  can  live  them  over,  if  it  is  only  in 
thought.  I  am  happy  that  I  can  think  of  the  souls  born  to 
God,  of  all  the  churches,  of  the  happy  homes  once  open  to  me, 
of  the  daily  greetings  with  pilgrims  who  were  on  the  journey 
home.  Yes,  I  can  hold  again,  if  only  in  memory,  the  hand  of 
the  dying."  He  rested  one  hand  in  the  other,  and  stopped  as 
if  to  gather  a  thought.  But  the  thought  had  come.  "I 
wonder,  wife,  who  will  hold  our  hands  when  we  are  dying, 
now  that  we  are  old  and  forsaken  by  the  friends  of  other 
and  better  days  ?" 

His  wife  looked  up,  her  eyes  red  with  weeping.  "Ah, 
dear,"  she  said,  "there  is  no  good  fruit  to  come  of  this. 
Let  us  cast  ourselves  again  upon  the  good  mercy  of  God.  It 
is  not  far  away  to  the  grave.  After  we  have  made  the  little 
journey,  all  the  problems  will  be  solved  and  the  enigmas  made 
plain.  The  righteous  will  not  he  forsalcen.  This  is  the  sure 
word  of  Him  who  never  forgets  His  people's  labor  of  love,  and 
I  have  a  faith  which  says  that  some  heart  and  hand  will  yet 
open  to  us  to  supply  our  need." 

At  the  table,  after  the  scanty  supper,  the  old  man  recited  a 
psalm,  and  the  little,  family  bowed  their  heads  in  prayer. 
That  night,  after  retiring,  when  his  head  was  pillowed  for 
sleep,  a  sweet  peace  came  down  upon  him,  and  the  kind 
Master  gave  him  refreshing  rest.  But  when  the  morning 
came,  and  the  breakfast  table  ofi^ered  so  little  to  tempt  a  weak 
appetite,  he  found  that  the  harassing  problem  was  still  there 
— whence  is  my  bread  to  come?  Nor  was  it  ever  finally 
removed  till  life's  sun  paled  away  and  set  forever.  Then  the 
old  man  had  bread  and  to  spare,  for  he  sat  daily  at  the  Mas- 
ter's table,  in  a  land  of  plenty — the  only  land  where  problems 
never  come  to  preachers. 

Beaufort,  S.  C.  C.  C.  Brown. 


520  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

THE  REV.  NOWKNOWSBETTER  TO  HIS  WIFE 
(Confidential  letter.) 
Deae  Lizzie: 

Have  you  read  the  poem,  '^li  1  Should  Die  To-night"? 
Well,  don't.  It  is  not  very  cheerful,  and  it  has  almost  used 
me  up.  I  read  it  last  night  and  had  a  bad  dream :  I  was  dead, 
you  a  widow,  and  the  children,  orphans ;  and  it  made  my  bones 
rattle  when  I  realized  what  a  hard  proposition  you  must  face. 

It  Avas  hard  enough  when  we  were  together  and  had  $1,200 
a  year  and  a  parsonage ;  but  had  it  not  been  for  your  skill  and 
economy  the  $1,200  never  would  have  provided  for  our  large 
family;  for  it  was  hard  to  live  on  $100  a  month  when  the 
people  expected  us  to  live  at  the  rate  of  $250  a  month,  and 
complained  if  our  children  did  not  look  as  well  as  the  children 
of  Jones,  who  draws  $500  a  month.  How  did  you  ever  do  it? 
We  might  have  laid  up  something;  but  receiving  $1,200  a 
year,  if  we  had  lived  on  $1,000  a  year  we  would  have  been  sent 
to  an  $800  charge,  as  was  Foster,  because  ^^not  stylish  enough 
for  such  a  high-toned  charge."  Besides  the  old  Church  is 
doing  better  by  its  claimants,  and  I  thought  that  before  the 
time  came  for  me  to  retire  there  would  be  funds. 

But  as  I  think  of  it  now,  1  never  did  much  to  help  the  Cause. 
I  was  too  busy  looking  after  the  heathen  and  the  schools.  I 
never  put  myself  out  to  raise  the  Jubilee  Gift,  and  had  an 
idea  that  some  day  a  good-natured  layman  would  plank  down 
Five  Million  Dollars  and  do  the  work.  My  stewards  placed 
the  apportionment  in  the  budget,  so  that  I  was  not  bothered 
with  pro-rating. 

But  now,  alas !  my  widow  is  a  Claimant  and  my  orphan 
children  dependent,  and  I  have  defaulted  duty  and  opportu- 
nity !  Your  hands  are  empty.  To  get  a  stamp  to  send  the 
catalogue  of  your  poverty  to  the  Conference  stewards  you  must 
rob  Margaret's  bank  of  her  pennies. 

While  awaiting  my  turn  to  interview  St.  Peter  I  have  been 
trying  to  recall  how  our  widows  fared  last  year.  It  was  shock- 
ing! They  received  only  an  average  of  $83.25  each.  Why 
did  we  transfer  from  the  old  Conference,  for  there  the  widows 
received  an  average  of  $118.49;  $35.24  more!  I  never  knew 
that  a  dollar  looked  so  big.  It  will  look  like  a  cart  wheel  to 
you  before  the  year  closes,  and  the  fault  is  mine  and  that  of 
the  other  preachers.    There  is  absolutely  no  call  for  your  pres- 


REV.  NOWKNOWSBETTER  TO  HIS  WIFE      521 

ent  need.  Laymen  always  responded  to  everything  we  asked 
for  the  old  preachers.  But  we  have  held  telescopes  to  our  eyes 
to  spy  out  new  lands  and  create  new  sunrises  for  distant 
people,  and  have  forgotten  that  our  own  old  preachers  and 
widows  here  at  home  are  sitting  in  the  evening  shadows  of 
neglect  and  poverty. 

It  looks  as  though  hard  times  were  ahead  of  you,  my  Dear, 
and  I  cannot  help  you.  No,  worse  than  that,  I  might  have 
helped  you  had  I  had  the  true  perspective.  There  are  claims 
and  claims,  and  there  are  causes  and  causes,  but  the  Out- 
standing Claim  and  the  Cause  of  all  Causes  is  that  the 
Veteran  and  the  Widow  should  be  provided  for.  Could  my 
brother  Ministers  see  this  as  I  now  see  it,  they  would  become 
deaf  and  blind  and  dumb  to  every  other  cause  until  their 
aged  bretliren  have  been  provided  for,  and  the  old  age  of  their 
loved  ones.  Laymen  listening  to  the  call  of  to-morrow  have 
laid  up  for  themselves  treasures  on  earth,  but  the  Preacher, 
who  inspired  them,  has  lamentably  failed  to  do  so. 

You  cannot  imagine  how  I  feel !  I  have  troubles  of  my  own. 
I  tried  to  enter,  but  Peter  stopped  me  and  said,  "You  belong 
to  that  Conference  which  paid  the  old  Ministers  $160  and  the 
widows  $83.27  and  you  were  deaf  and  blind  and  dumb  to  their 
needs.  Young  man,  it^s  a  good  thing  that  Paul  isn't  on  duty, 
or  you'd  never  get  in.  For  Paul  is  notional  on  this  subject 
and  declares  that  a  man  Vho  careth  not  for  his  own  has 
denied  the  faith  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel.'  You  know 
just  where  Paul  would  send  you.  Surely  the  Lord  knew  what 
He  was  about  when  He  put  me  on  guard.  I  denied  Him,  and 
swore,  and  am  still  a  little  rooster-shy,  so  I'm  not  inclined  to 
be  too  inquisitive;  but  it  strikes  me  that  a  man  wlio  is  as 
foolish  as  you  are  and  didn't  have  sense  enough  to  convert  the 
loving  loyalty  of  the  laymen  into  the  coin  of  the  realm  for 
your  widow  and  children,  is  too  big  a  fool  to  make  much  dif- 
ference which  way  he  goes.  You  can  take  the  elevator  or 
shoot  the  chutes.  It  makes  no  difference  which;  but  don't 
touch  those  halos.     They  are  all  mens  size." 

I  am  not  sure  which  route  I  took,  but  the  trip  ended  with 
a  thump,  and,  thank  the  Lord !  I'm  awake  and  my  wife  is  not 
a  widow,  and  my  children  are  not  orphans.  But  henceforth, 
''first  things  first."  I'll  be  home  soon,  and,  first  of  all,  we'll 
raise  $1,000  for  the  permanent  endowment  fund.     Then  we 


522  TlIK  KETIRED  MINISTER 

will  see  Deacon  Thompson  and  have  him  fulfill  his  promise  to 
bequeath  $10,000  to  the  Preachers'  Aid  Society.  And  then 
there  is  dear  old  Sister  Green,  worrying  about  that  $5,000  her 
sister  left  her.  I  will  see  that  she  puts  it  into  a  Life  Annuity 
Bond  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  which  will  give 
her  an  income  of  $30  a  month  as  regularly  as  a  government 
pension,  so  that  she  will  be  free  to  do  what  she  so  much  loves 
to  do,  contribute  liberally  to  missions  and  other  benevolences. 

Good-bye  for  to-day.  I'll  be  home  to-morrow  and  get  busy. 
I  know  I'll  have  a  job,  "Keeping  up  with  Lizzie."  I'm  glad 
I'm  not  dead.  No  obituary  in  mine.  No  Abner  epitaph, 
"Abner  died  as  a  fool  dieth,"  on  my  headstone.  I'm  glad 
you're  not  a  widow  (though  you  always  did  look  well  in 
black.)  I'm  glad  the  kiddies  are  not  "the  poor  orphan  chil- 
dren of  a  Methodist  preacher,"  and  heirs  of  Sammy  and  Susie 
Jones's  cast-offs. 

Lovingly  yours, 

John  Aldeit  Nowknowsbetter. 

(One  John  who  has  learned  to  "speak  for  himself.") 


METHODISTS  SEEK  $10,000,000  MINISTERS^ 
PENSIONS 

Campaign  Extending  Through  Year  Will  Be  One  of 
Most  Remarkable  Ever  Undertaken  by  the  De- 
nomination— Plea  Based  on  Business   Principles. 

By  J.  R.  Hildebrand 

In  Washington  this  week  will  be  launched  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable campaigns  ever  undertaken  by  a  religious  denomina- 
tion. 

Methodists  intend  to  make  a  campaign  to  raise  $10,000,000 
within  a  year  as  a  ministers'  retirement  fund. 

Following  the  examples  of  great  corporations,  and  giving  an 
object  lesson  to  Uncle  Sam,  who  now  makes  no  provision  for  his 
aged  employees,  this  Church  body  hopes  to  raise  a  Permanent 
Fund  for  pensioning  every  retired  minister,  every  minister's 
widow  and  ministers'  dependent  children. 

Heading  this  unique  example  of  religious  efficiency  is  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Hingeley,  of  Chicago,  who  outlined  the  plans. 

Ten  million  dollars  for  a  ministers'  retirement  fund ! 
Startling,  perhaps,  but  here   is  the  real  surprise  of  this 
campaign.      This  money   is  to   be   raised   without   a   single 


MINISTERS'  PENSIONS  523 

"hard-luck''  tale,  without  a  tear-compelling  story,  with  no 
vivid  pictures  of  ministerial  derelicts,  suffering  widows  or 
penniless  orphans.  And  nary  an  "over  the  hill  to  the  poor- 
house"  touch. 

The  campaign  for  that  fund  is  to  be  launched  in  Washing- 
ton this  week,  where  Government  clerks  are  fighting  for  civil 
pensions,  and  where  school  teachers  are  pleading  for  a  retire- 
ment fund. 

Clergymen  and  prominent  laymen  of  the  Methodist  Church 
will  go  about  this  great  undertaking  on  business  principles. 
They  will  base  their  appeal  on  good  business  arguments  and 
pleas  for  higher  efficiency.  They  hope  to  avoid  any  "sob" 
efforts  and  to  avert  any  misguided  pathos. 

By  way  of  emphasizing  this  point  they  have  included  on 
their  program  pension  experts  of  several  great  corporations, 
for  example,  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  and  the 
Youngstown  (Ohio)  Steel  Company;  and  before  the  as- 
sembled Bishops,  leading  clergymen  and  noted  laymen  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  leaders  of  the  ministers'  retirement  move- 
ment will  urge  the  application  of  sound  business  principles. 

Harrov^ing  Tales  Obsolete 

Talk  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  leader  of  this  great  move- 
ment, the  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  B.  Hingeley,  secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  and  you  will  realize  why  this 
is  to  be  no  campaign  of  perfervid  and  lachrymal  oratory.  Dr. 
Hingeley  possesses  the  personality,  the  forceful  bearing,  the 
concise  speech,  the  penetrating  glance  of  the  successful  busi- 
ness man. 

"The  day  of  harrowing  tales  of  superannuated  ministers 
has  passed  for  our  denomination,"  he  said.  "In  1908,  in 
Baltimore  a  system  of  pensions  was  worked  out.  It  now 
remains  for  us  to  secure  the  money  to  insure  the  fulfillment 
of  the  pledges  under  that  system. 

"And  we  consider  those  pledges  as  binding  as  those  made 
to  an  active  minister  or  an  active  Bishop.  It  is  as  much  a 
congregation's  business  to  pay  its  retired  clergyman  as  it  is 
to  pay  the  sahiry  of  its  pastor. 

"Before  1908  each  Conference  was  the  scene  of  sad  stories 
about  clergymen,  their  widows  and  their  children.  These 
men   were   entitled  to   pensions,   but  were   merely   tendered 


524  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

'help.'     The  man  who  told  the  most  pitiful  story  would  get 
the  most  'help/  " 

Average  Salaries  Basis 

Under  the  present  arrangement  clergymen  who  have  served 
thirty-five  years  are  entitled  to  a  pension  of  half  the  average 
annual  salary  paid  by  their  Conference.  In  the  Baltimore 
Conference  the  average  salary  paid  Methodist  ministers  is 
$1,050.  Therefore,  a  clergyman  retiring  in  this  territory 
receives  $525.  Ministers  having  served  less  than  thirty-five 
years  are  allowed  $15  annually  for  each  year's  service. 

In  the  Northern  Minnesota  Conference,  the  average  is 
$1,400.  It  is  believed  this  arrangement  is  equitable  because 
it  takes  into  consideration  the  cost  of  living  in  the  locality 
where  the  minister  is  retired.  Widows  of  clergymen  are 
paid  one  half  of  the  ratio,  and  each  child  under  sixteen  years 
receives  one  fifth  of  his  father's  claim. 

In  special  cases  the  Conference  has  a  right  to  increase  these 
pensions  to  meet  special  needs.  If  a  clerg3^man  is  crippled 
after  only  a  few  years'  service  his  pension  would  not  be  ade- 
quate for  his  support. 

At  present  the  full  pensions  due  under  this  arrangement 
cannot  always  be  paid  for  lack  of  funds.  Last  year  $1,100,000 
was  paid  out,  although  $1,600,000  was  needed  to  meet  all 
obligations.  A  $10,000,000  fund,  in  addition  to  present  re- 
sources, will  afford  interest  sufficient  to  meet  this  obligation 
in  full. 

During  1915,  Methodists  in  all  parts  of  the  land  will  give 
their  united  efforts  to  raise  this  sum.  The  undertaking  is 
heavy,  but  leaders  of  the  movement  express  confidence  in  the 
outcome. — Tlie  Washinytoti  Times. 


"SUPERANNUATED" 

"No,  I  don't  believe  in  these  Vorn-out  preachers'  yarns,' 
such  as  the  preacher  sprung  on  us  this  morning.  A  superan- 
nuated preacher  ought  to  be  like  a  superannuated  business 
man — able  to  take  care  of  himself." 

"How  about  your  old  friend  Jones?"  mildly  asked  his 
wife.  "He  is  a  superannuated  business  man  and  he's  in  the 
poorhouse." 


^^SUPERAXNUATED"  525 

"Humph  !    Lack  of  business  sagacity." 

"But/^  continued  the  wife,  "suppose  a  hard-working 
preacher  receives,  while  in  his  strength  of  body  and  mind, 
only  enough  to  keep  soul  and  body  together.  What  is  he  to 
do  when  he  is  old  ?" 

"Why — eh?  Say,  wife,  IVe  got  to  go  north  on  business 
to-morrow.  Want  to  go  along?  You  will  have  to  run  your 
own  chances,  for  I  do  not  know  what  sort  of  a  place  it  is." 

"It  may  be  that  jumping-off  place  to  the  poorhouse,"  sug- 
gested his  wife. 

At  six  o'clock  the  next  evening  they  found  themselves  in  a 
scrubby  town. 

"There  is  no  hotel  here !"  exclaimed  the  wife.  But  after 
looking  around  they  directed  their  steps  to  the  most  neatly 
kept  house  in  town  where  a  feeble,  kindly-faced  old  lady  an- 
swered their  knock. 

"Good  woman,"  said  the  business  man,  "we  are  obliged  to 
remain  in  town  over  night.  Can  you  give  us  lodging?  We 
will  pay  you  well  for  your  trouble." 

"If  you  can  put  up  with  what  we  have  we  will  be  glad  to 
keep  you.    Shall  we  not,  husband?" 

"Certainly,"  came  a  cheery  voice  from  within.  "We  turn 
no  stranger  from  our  door." 

For  supper  they  had  the  shredded  leg  of  a  chicken  made 
into  a  delicious  gravy,  faultlessly  cooked  potato,  the  pro- 
verbial pinch  of  salt,  and  water.  A  repetition  of  their  supper 
constituted  their  breakfast. 

"We  are  poor,"  explained  the  kindly-faced  woman,  "and 
are  obliged  to  make  a  chicken  go  a  long  way,"  she  said, 
laughing.  "Husband  is  feeble,  and  I  am  not  much  better; 
but  so  far  the  good  Lord  has  provided  for  all  of  our  neces- 
sities." 

"Amen !"  responded  the  gray-haired  man  at  the  talkie. 

"But  where  did  you  sleep  last  night?"  asked  the  business 
man's  wife. 

"We  have  but  one  bed,"  answered  the  gray-haired  man. 
"Wife  and  I  took  to  our  old  rocking-chairs,  and  passed  a  very 
comfortable  night  of  it.    You  see,  we  have  plenty  of  wood." 

"And  who  are  you?"  asked  the  business  man,  while  he 
tried  to  find  something  in  his  eye  which  very  much  troubled 
him. 


526  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

'My  name  is 


"What!  Not  my  father's  old  pastor?"  exclaimed  the 
business  man's  wife. 

"The  same." 

"And  you  baptized  me  ?" 

"Yes." 

"And  preached  my  mother's  and  father's  funeral  ser- 
mons ?" 

"Husband !" 

But  the  business  man  did  not  answer.  He  was  having 
trouble  now  with  both  eyes.  He  had  out  his  pocketbook,  and, 
counting  out  a  generous  sum  of  money,  handed  it  over  to  the 
superannuated  minister  and  his  wife. 

Then  the  old  pastor  took  the  blessed  Book  and  with  a 
quavering  voice  read  a  joyous  psalm  of  thanksgiving: 

"Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul; 
And  all  that  is  within  me,  bless  his  holy  name. 
Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul, 
And  forget  not  all  his  benefits." 

The  next  Sunday  the  business  man  united  with  his  home 
church,  and  ever  after  saw  to  it  that  the  superannuated 
preachers'  apportionment  was  pressed  down  and  running 
over. — Micliigan  Christian  Advocate. 


OUR  VETERANS 
The  Rev.  S.  J.  Greenfield,  D.D. 

Yes,  that  is  what  they  are,  ''Our  Veterans."  Do  you  ask 
why  we  call  them  "Our  Veterans"?  Well,  I  will  tell  you. 
Y'ears  ago  they  gave  themselves  to  us,  and  we  accepted  the 
gift  and  have  made  use  of  it.  Long  ago,  when  in  the  vigor 
of  early  manhood,  when  ambition  fired  the  blood,  when  many 
alluring  voices  called  to  them  from  different  directions,  when 
professional,  commercial  and  industrial  careers  opened  be- 
fore them,  they  turned  away  from  them  and  offered  them- 
selves to  us  for  the  work  "of  God,  and  the  Church  and  the 
ministry."  Erom  that  moment  to  this  they  have  been  ours. 
They  have  l)een  our  "servants  for  Christ's  sake,"  bearing  the 
])urdens,  facing  the  difficulties,  and  solving  the  problems  that 
fall  to  the  lot  of  a  Methodist  pastor.  They  have  done  our 
bidding,  gone  wherever  sent,  taught  the  flock  "publicly  and 


OUR  VETERANS  527 

from  house  to  house" ;  they  have  led  many  of  us  and  our  sons 
and  daughters  into  the  fold  of  Christ,  and  have  done  it 
all  without  murmuriujj:;  yes,  done  it  till  the  yet  willing  soul 
found  itself  imj^risoned  in  a  feehle  hody.  Surely  they  are 
ours. 

Gkown  Old  in  Service 

They  are  our  ''Veterans/'  too,  for  they  have  "grown  old 
in  the  service  and  are  entitled  to  consideration  and  allowance 
on  account  of  it."  Such  is  the  dictionary  definition  of  a 
"Veteran,"  and  the  Methodist  Church  cannot  afford  to  have 
a  definition  that  means  less.  They  have  grown  old  in  the 
service,  so  old  that  they  are  practically  unfitted  for  any  other 
work  by  which  to  earn  a  living.  If  any  Veterans  in  the  world 
were  ever  entitled  "to  consideration  and  allowance"  from  those 
they  had  faithfully  served,  surely  these  must  be.  Warriors 
are  they  in  the  age-long  struggle  between  right  and  wrong; 
laborers  in  the  Lord's  harvest  field  gathering  precious  sheaves 
into  His  garner;  Avise  builders  patiently  adding  stone  by 
stone  to  characters  that  shall  witness  through  all  eternity 
to  their  fidelity  to  their  sacred  trust.  Say  you  not,  then, 
Brother,  that  they  are  worthy  of  "consideration  and  allow- 
ance" ? 

A  Soulless  Corporatio]^^ 

When  at  a  summer  resort  there  was  pointed  out  to  me  a 
cozy  little  cottage  overlooking  the  far-famed  beauties  of  the 
majestic  St.  Lawrence.  My  companion  told  me  that  this 
was  the  summer  home  of  one  who  had  grown  old  in  the 
service  of  a  great  railroad.  W^hen  failing  sight  unfitted  him 
to  hold  safely  any  longer  the  throttle  of  the  mighty  locomo- 
tive, the  company  retired  him  on  a  pension  of  fifty  dollars 
a  month  for  life,  the  company  stating  that  this  pension  was 
a  recognition  of  "long  and  faithful  service."  There  instantly 
ran  through  my  mind  the  recollection  of  not  a  few  members 
of  the  Methodist  ministry  wdio  had,  under  all  circumstances, 
faithfully  guided  onward  the  churches  committed  to  their 
care  till  physical  infirmity  compelled  retirement,  but  who 
have  never  received  from  the  great  Church  they  served  fifty 
dollars  a  month;  in  some  cases  not  fifty  dollars  a  year  as  a 
recognition  of  "long  and  faithful  service."  Yet  that  was  a 
"soulless"  corporation  and  we  are  a  Christian  Church. 

Utica,  N.  Y.  S.  J.  Greenfield. 


528  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

THE  LIGHT  BRIGADE 

When  an  effort  was  made  in  London  to  raise  a  fund  for 
the  survivors  of  the  heroic  charge  at  Balaklava  only  about 
a  hundred  dollars  was  collected.  The  veterans  called  on 
Tennyson,  and  he  aroused  the  country  to  action  with  his  pen. 
But  much  of  the  money  raised  went  to  other  purposes — to 
Ireland,  to  the  Society  for  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals. 
The  incident  called  forth  the  following  lines  from  Kipling: 

THE  LAST  OF  THE   LIGHT  BRIGADE 
RuDYABD  Kipling 

There  were  thirty  million  English  that  talked  of  England's  Might: 
There  were  twenty  broken   troopers   that  lacked   a  bed   for  the 

night: 
They  had  neither  food  nor  money,  they  had  neither  work  nor 

trade. 
They  were  only  shiftless  soldiers,  the  last  of  the  Light  Brigade. 

They  felt  that  Life  was  fleeting;  they  knew  that  Art  was  long, 
That  though  they  were  dying  of  famine  they  lived  in  deathless 

song; 
They  asked  for  a  little  money  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door. 
And  the  thirty  million  English  sent  twenty  pounds  and  four. 

They  laid  their  heads  together,  that  were  scarred  and  lined  with 

gray — 
Keen  were  the  Russian  sabers,  but  want  was  keener  than  they — 
And  the  old  troop  sergeant  muttered:  "Let's  go  to  the  man  who 

writes 
The  things  on  Balaklava  the  kiddies  at  school  recites." 

They  went  without  band  or  colors,  a  regiment  ten  file  strong, 
To  look  for  the  Master  Singer,  who  had  crowned  them  all  in  his 

song; 
And  waiting  his  servant's  order,  by  the  garden  gate  they  stayed, 
A  desolate  little  cluster,  the  last  of  the  Light  Brigade. 

They  strove   to  stand   to   attention,   to  straighten   the  toil-worn 

back; 
They  drilled  on  empty  stomachs,  the  loose  knit  files  fell  slack. 
With    stooping   of   weary    shoulders,    in    garments    tattered    and 

frayed, 
They  shambled  into  his  presence,  the  last  of  the  Light  Brigade. 

The  old  troop  sergeant  was  spokesman,  and  "Beggin'  your  par- 
don," he  said, 

"You  wrote  o'  the  Light  Brigade,  sir.    Here's  all  that  isn't  dead. 

And  it's  all  come  true  what  you  wrote,  sir,  regardin'  the  Mouth 
o'  Hell, 

For  we're  all  of  us  nigh  the  work-house,  an'  we  thought  we'd  call 
an'  tell. 


STORY  AND  SONOx  529 

"No,  thank  you,  we  don't  want  alms,  sir,  but  couldn't  you  take  an' 

write 
A  sort  0'  'to-be-continued,'  and  'see-next-page'  o'  the  fight? 
We  think  that  some  one  has  blundered,  an'  couldn't  you  tell  'em 

how? 
You  wrote  we  was  heroes  once,  sir — please  write  we  are  starving 

now." 

The  poor  little  army  departed,  limping  and  lean  and  forlorn, 
And  the  heart  of  the  Master  Singer  grew  hot  with  the  scorn  of 

scorn, 
And  he  wrote  for  them  wondrous  verses  that  swept  the  land  like 

flame, 
Till  the  fatted  souls  of  the  English  were  scourged  with  the  thing 

called  shame. 

They  sent  a  check  to  the  felon  that  sprang  from  an  Irish  bog. 
They  healed  the  spavined  cab  horse,  they  housed  the  homeless 

dog; 
And  they  sent   (you  may  call  me  a  liar)   when  rebel  and  beast 

were  paid, 
A  check  for  enough  to  live  on  to  the  last  of  the  Light  Brigade. 

O  thirty  million  English,  that  babble  of  England's  Might, 
Behold  there  are  twenty  heroes,  who  lack  their  food  to-night; 
Our  children's  children  are  lisping  to  honor  the  charge  they  made, 
But  we  leave  to  the  streets  and  work-house  the  last  of  the  Light 
Brigade. 


WHO  FORGETS? 

A  ragged,  poor  and  friendless  Chicago  boy  was  asked,  "Do 
you  not  think  that  if  there  were  a  God  he  would  tell  somebody 
to  give  you  clothes  and  other  things  that  you  need  ?" 

"He  does  tell  somebody,"  replied  the  boy,  "but  somebody 
forgets." 

All  around  us  are  God^s  children,  in  need  of  a  kind  word  of 
sympathy,  in  want  of  temporary  assistance.     But  we  forget. 

And  how  about  the  faithful  veterans  of  the  ministry  who 
have  literally  worn  themselves  out  in  the  service  of  Christ 
and  the  Church ;  who  are  unable  to  serve  longer,  whose  salaries 
are  cut  off  and  who  are  in  need? 

How  about  the  widows  and  little  orphan  children  who  have 
shared  the  privations  of  these  self-denying  ministers? 

"Doth  God  care  for  oxen  ?"  Then  he  cannot  forget  his  saints. 

But  somebody  forgets.    Is  your  memory  good  ? 

Have  you  forgotten? 


530  THE  PiETIRED  MINISTER 

VETERANS ! 

Rev.  Alfred  J.  Hough 

[Read  before  the  Veterans  of  Vermont  Annual  Conference.] 

"Veterans!"    That's  a  name  of  honor,  borne  by  men  who  wrought 

and  taught 
That  their   fellows  might  be   lifted    to   high  planes   of  life  and 

thought. 
Not  that  age  has  lowered  a  pulse-beat,  dimmed  one  radiant  ideal. 
Clouded  any  goal  before  them,  or  toned  down  their  ardent  zeal; 
But  the  years  of  service  rendered  in  the  Master's  holy  cause 
Give  them  right  to  relaxation  and  the  blessing  of  a  pause! 
Looking  backward,  forward,  standing  on  the  heights,  serene  and 

fair, 
Won  by  life-long  aspiration  and  the  upward  life  of  prayer, 
While  the  memories  sweet  and  tender  from  the  far-off  years  arise. 
Filling  with  unclouded  splendor  all  the  sweep  of  evening  skies. 

How  they  sweetened  noisome  places,  succored  souls  when  tempest- 
tossed; 

How  they  lightened  shadowed  faces,  soothed  the  sorrowing,  saved 
the  lost! 

How  they  laid  the  sure  foundations,  gardens  out  of  deserts  made, 

Spoke  the  truth  without  evasion,  opened  heaven  as  they  prayed. 

When  the  world's  long  Roll  of  Honor  angel  hands  at  last  unroll, 

Then  these  ministers  of  Jesus  will  stand  highest  on  the  scroll. 

Veterans,  ere  you  leave  us,  swinging  in  bright  chariots  through 
the  air. 

Give  us  back  the  old-time  singing,  give  us  back  the  power  of 
prayer! 

Give  us,  ere  you  go,  the  secret  of  that  preaching  art  of  yours, 

Which  sent  home  the  Gospel  message,  saving  sinners  by  the 
scores! 

If  the  church  regains  her  prestige  in  the  fight  with  sin,  'tis  plain 
She  must  bugle-call  her  Veterans  to  the  firing-line  again! 
Talk  of  empty  churches,  drifting,  why,  a  flock  of  sheep  will  go 
Over  fences  to  the  neighbors  when  their  feed  is  running  low! 
O  beloved,  you  have  spoken  words  that  to  the  people  showed 
Where  the  heavenly  bread  was  broken,  where  the  living  waters 

flowed, 
How  a  soul  by  sin  defeated  could  find  mercy's  open  door, 
Hear  the   Master's  words   repeated:    "Go   thy  way,  and   sin   no 

more!" 
These  the  men  that  went  forth  weeping,  sowing  fields  with  pre- 
cious grain 
For  the  harvests  we  are  reaping — shall  we  see  their  like  again? 

From  the  world  your  names  may  perish,  for  the  world  forgets  its 

best, 
But  your  memories  souls  will  cherish  that  you  guided  home  to 

rest. 


STOKY  AND  SONG  rvM 

Some  day — may  that  day  come  swiftly! — this  great  Church   of 

ours  will  heed, 
And  munificently  answer,  every  veteran's  sigh  of  need! 
How  her  spires  rise  up,  unnumbered,  to  the  sun,  in  every  State, 
But  she  seems  to  have  forgotten  those  who  made  her  strong  and 

great! 
It  may  be  our  risen  Master  will  rare  gifts  of  grace  withhold 
Till  the  Church  to  her  old  pastors  pays  her  debt  of  love  in  gold — • 
Till  their  widows  and  their  orphans  stand  as  mendicants  no  more, 
Heeded  not,  while  wealth  and  plenty  walk  through  every  church's 

door. 

Listen!   for  these  words  of  chiding,  from  the  pen  God  wrote  with, 

fell: 
"He,  not  for  his  house  providing,  is  far  worse  than  infidel!" 
And  we  read  that  when  God's  storehouse  holds  the  tithes  that  are 

its  due. 
He    will    open    heaven's    w^indows    and    let    boundless    blessings 

through. 
When  the  Church  pays  her  long  owing  for  divinest  ministers. 
There  will  be  a  sound  of  going  in  those  blessed  mulberry  trees; 
On  the  floor  of  every  Conference  may  the  Veterans'  pleadings  win; 
For  the  Lord,  with  all  His  loving,  hates  a  stingy  Church  like  sin. 
But  just  loves  to  pour  out  blessings  on  the  church  that  loves  to 

give 
Of  its  bounty,  countless  treasure  that  the  Veterans  may  live. 


THE   DIFFEEENT   WAYS   WE   TEEAT   THEM 
Mildred  Welch 

I  want  to  tell  yon  about  two  soldiers,  one,  a  gray-haired 
Confederate  veteran,  the  other  a  young  soldier  of  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church.  The  veteran  is  growing  old 
and  feeble  and  it  will  not  be  long  till  he  joins  the  men  in 
gray  who  have  "crossed  over  the  river  and  rest  in  the  shade 
of  the  trees";  the  other  soldier,  the  young  Minister,  has 
already  answered  the  roll-call  in  the  happy  land  and  laid 
down  his  armor  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood. 

They  call  the  Confederate  soldier  a  hero  where  he  lives, 
and  when  a  stranger  comes  to  town  he  is  told  this  story.  The 
veteran  was  a  young  fellow  wlien  he  went  into  the  war  and 
carried  the  colors  of  his  regiment  with  pride  and  joy  beating 
high  in  his  heart.  One  day  in  the  heat  of  a  fierce  battle  his 
commander,  General  Forrest,  not  wishing  to  expose  his  men 
unnecessarily,  said  to  him:  "Give  me  the  colors.  I  want  to 
plant  them  there,"  pointing  to  the  most  dangerous  position 


532  tup:  retired  minister 

on  the  field.  The  young  color-bearer  drew  himself  up  to  full 
height  and  said:  ^'I  will  not  give  you  the  colors,  but  I  will 
take  them  anywhere  you  say." 

"Plant  them  on  the  enemy's  breastworks !"  answered  the 
general,  and  the  color-bearer  planted  them  where  shot  and 
shell  were  raining  fire,  and  the  blue  and  the  gray  falling  side 
by  side.  AVhen  the  men  in  gray  saw  their  colors  waving 
there  they  charged  and  in  one  impetuous  rush  carried  the 
breastworks.  And  that  is  why  we  call  him  a  hero !  He  does 
not  need  our  money,  and  so  in  place  of  money  we  give  him 
love,  honor  and  the  brave  man's  place  in  our  hearts. 

And  the  other,  the  young  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ!  He 
was  a  poor  boy,  used  to  hard  work,  sorrow  and  trouble, 
without  the  good  play-times  of  other  boys.  One  day  he  heard 
the  call  of  God  for  him  to  be  a  minister  and  he  answered  it. 
There  were  years  of  hard  toil,  struggling  for  an  education, 
getting  along  with  little  money,  shabby  clothes  and  insuffi- 
cient food.  Then  came  six  years  as  a  minister  in  the  moun- 
tains. Not  in  one  gallant  charge  did  the  young  soldier  fight 
his  battle,  but  through  hard  years,  going  up  and  down  the 
wild  mountain  caves,  teaching  little  children,  visiting  the 
sick,  comforting  the  dying.  He  had  barely  enough  to  live 
on  and  out  of  that  little  he  gave  to  the  wretched  mountain 
people,  while  in  all  the  commonplaces  of  daily  life  there 
shone  the  beautiful  spirit  of  sacrifice. 

One  day,  the  young  minister's  strength  gave  way  and  when 
he  lay  sick  he  had  not  money  enough  to  pay  his  board.  At 
last  the  Church  for  which  he  had  suffered  so  much  heard 
and  sent  help.  But  it  came  too  late.  A  check  for  $-10  was 
held  before  his  eyes  already  growing  dim.  He  smiled  grate- 
fully, and  said:  "It  will  help,"  and  almost  at  once  answered 
the  roll-call  as  a  faithful  soldier  in  the  other  world. 

It  never  would  have  happened  if  we  had  only  hiiown,  would 
it?  But  let  us  see  that  it  does  not  ever  happen  to  any  other 
soldier  of  the  Cross. 

AGED  MINISTERS  IN  THE  GERMAN  STATE 
CHURCH 

The  shamefully  inadequate  provision  made  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  aged  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  this  country  is  in 
marked  contrast  with  the  superb  provision  made  for  them  in 


STORY  AXD  SOXG  533 

Germany.  The  Chrisiian  Herald  is  authority  for  the  state- 
ment that  in  Germany  the  young  minister  gets  a  minimum 
salary,  usually  of  $500  and  a  parsonage.  This  salary  is  in- 
creased every  few  years  until,  at  sixty-five,  the  minister,  even 
if  he  has  changed  his  parish,  receives  $2,500,  the  largest  com- 
pensation permissihle,  the  use  of  a  parsonage  and  certain  fees. 
At  sixty-five  the  minister  can  withdraw  on  a  pension  if  he 
shall  so  elect  or,  if  the  parish  so  desire;  or  hy  consent  he  can 
continue  live  years  longer.  On  retiring  he  receives  a  pension 
for  the  rest  of  his  life  of  two  thirds  of  his  last  and  highest 
salary.  On  his  death  his  widow  receives  an  adeqiiate  pension 
for  the  remainder  of  her  days,  as  also  does  each  of  her  minor 
cliildren. — The  Neio  Orleans  Picayune. 


THE  CIRCUIT  PREACHER 

George  Alfred  Town  send 

His  thin  wife's  cheek  grows  pinched  and  pale  with  anxiousness 

intense; 
He  sees  the  brethren's  prayerful  eyes  o'er  all  the  Conference; 
He  hears  the  bishop  slowly  call  the  long  "appointment"  rolls, 
Where  in  his  vineyard  God  would  place  these  gatherers  of  souls. 

Poor  rugged  heart,  be  still  a  pause,  and  you,  worn  wife,  be  meek! 
Two  years  of  banishment  they  read  far  down  the  Chesapeake! 
"Cheer  up,  my  girl!  here  Brother  Riggs  our  circuit  knows  'twill 

please: 
He  raised  three  hundred  dollars  there,  besides  the  marriage  fees. 

"The  schools  are  good,  the  brethren  say,  and  our  church  holds  the 

wheel : 
The  Presbyterians  lost  their  house;  the  Baptists  lost  their  zeal. 
Oh,  thy  just  will,  our  Lord,  be  done!  though  these  eight  seasons 

more 
We  see  our  ague-crippled  boys  pine  on  the  Eastern  shore. 

"Yea!  some  must  serve  on  God's  frontiers,  and  I  shall  fail  perforce 
To  sow  upon- some  better  ground  my  most  select  discourse: 
"Gray  am  I,  brethren,  in  the  work,  though  tough  to  bear  my  part. 
It  is  these  drooping  little  ones  that  sometimes  wring  my  heart. 

"These  hairs  were  brown  when,  full  of  hope,  ent'ring  these  holy 

lists. 
Proud  of  my  order  as  a  knight, — the  shouting  Methodists, 
My  nag  was  gray,  my  gig  was  new — fast  went  the  sandy  miles; 
The  eldest  trustee  gave  me  praise,  the  fairest  sisters  smiles. 


534  TTTE  T?ETTEED  MINISTER 

"All  winter  long  I  rode  the  snows,  rejoicing  on  my  way; 
At  midnight  our  revival  hymns  rolled  o'er  the  sobbing  bay; 
But  larger,  tenderer  charities  such  vain  debates  supplant. 
When  the  dear  wife,  saved  by  my  zeal,  loved  the  Itinerant. 

"No  cooing  dove,  of  storms  afeared,  she  shared  my  life's  distress — 

A  singing  Miriam,  alway  in  God's  Poor  wilderness. 

The  wretched  at  her  footstep  smiled,  the  frivolous  were  still: 

A  bright  path  marked  her  pilgrimage,  from  Blackbird  to  Snowhill. 

"A  new  face  in  the  parsonage,  at  church  a  double  pride!  — 
Like  the  Madonna  and  her  babe  they  filled  the  "Amen  side": 
Crouched  at  my  feet  in  the  old  gig,  my  boy,  so  fair  and  frank, 
Naswongo's  darkest  marches  cheered,  and  sluices  of  Choptank. 

"My  cloth  drew  close;  too  fruitful  love  my  fruitless  life  outran: 
The  townfolk  marveled,  when  we  moved,  at  such  a  caravan! 
I  wonder  not  my  lads  grew  wild,  when,  bright,  without  the  door 
Spread  the  ripe,  luring,  wanton  world — and  we,  within,  so  poor! 

"For,  down  the  silent  cypress  aisles  came  shapes  even  me  to  scout. 
Mocking  the  lean  flanks  of  my  mare,  my  boy's  patched  round- 
about. 
And  saying  'Have  these  starveling  boors,  thy  congregation,  souls, 
That  on  their  dull  heads  Heaven  and  thou  pour  forth  such  living 
coals?' 

"Well!  well!   my  brethren,  it  is  true  we  should  not  preach  for 

pelf; 
(I  would  my  sermon  on  Saint  Paul  the  bishop  heard  himself!) 
But  this  crushed  wife — these  boys — these  hairs!   they  cut  me  to 

the  core;  — 
Is  it  not  hard,  year  after  year,  to  ride  the  Eastern  Shore? 

"Next  year?    Yes,  yes,  I  thank  you  much!     Then  my  reward  may 

fall! 
(That  is  a  downright  fair  discourse  on  Patmos  and  Saint  Paul!) 
So,  Brother  Riggs,  once  more  my  voice  shall  ring  in  the  old  lists. 
Cheer  up,  sick  heart,  who  would  not  die  among  these  Methodists?" 


QUITTING  TOO  SOON 

The  Conferences  have  had  the  usual  number  of  men  step- 
ping out  of  the  active  work  of  the  ministry  into  the  more 
quiet  and  restful  way  of  the  superannuate.  There  is  nearly 
always  some  touch  of  pathos  in  this  process,  and  we  believe 
that  not  many  Methodist  ministers  ask  for  a  superannuated 
relation  without  misgiving,  wrenching  of  heart,  or  tears. 


QUITTING  TOO  SOON  535 

But  this  decision  and  this  process  is  sometimes  worse  than 
pathetic;  it  is  occasionally  a  tragedy — ^because  it  has  been 
reached  altogether  too  early  in  life.  If  some  change  could 
be  made  in  conditions  or  in  the  trend  of  things  that  would 
do  away  with  the  seeming  necessity  for  early  superannuation 
two  excellent  things  would  result — the  problem  of  ministerial 
supply  would  be  much  easier  of  solution,  and  much  heart- 
break, bitterness,  and  real  suffering  would  be  spared  the 
preacher,  and  in  some  cases  the  people  as  well. 

The  minister  who  is  retiring  at  fifty-five,  still  active  and 
vigorous,  may  seek  to  justify  himself  on  the  plea  that  the 
foolish  craze  of  the  j^eople  for  young  men  has  driven  him  to 
the  wall;  but  he  ought  in  all  fairness  to  honestly  question 
himself  as  to  whether  that  way  of  putting  the  matter  actually 
covers  the  whole  situation.  It  may  be  true  that  Church  mem- 
bers and  official  boards  are  sometimes  foolishly  fond  of 
preachers  under  thirty,  but  it  is  worth  a  question  whether 
their  fancy  is  really  for  men  young  in  years  or  only  for  those 
young  in  spirit.  It  is  probably  true  that  a  minister  who  is 
youthful  in  feelings  and  outlook  and  yet  has  the  advantage 
of  years  behind  him,  has  a  much  better  chance  of  real  appre- 
ciation than  the  one  who  is  both  young  and  inexperienced. 

There  are  two  or  three  things  that  the  minister  who  has 
reached  middle  life  should  set  himself  steadfastly  to  do.  He 
should  determine  not  to  lose  his  grip  on  himself.  If  a  man 
keeps  fast  hold  of  his  courage,  his  enthusiasm,  his  buoyancy 
of  spirit,  and  does  not  allow  his  adversities,  or  hardships,  or 
disappointments  to  sour  or  embitter  him,  he  has  made  one 
of  the  first  and  most  necessary  preparations  for  the  coming 
on  of  the  years. 

Men  sometimes  foolishly  think  that  as  the  hair  grows  gray 
and  the  years  crowd  on  into  the  fifties  it  is  a  call  to  slacken 
effort.  In  most  cases  it  is  no  such  thing.  There  is  no  reason 
why  any  ordinary  man  should  not  grow  and  develop  and 
advance  in  knowledge,  a])ility,  and  usefulness  in  the  fifties 
or  sixties — or  even  the  seventies,  for  that  matter — as  he  did 
in  the  thirties  or  forties;  no  reason  in  the  world,  save  as  he 
allows  carelessness  and  inertness  and  slothfulness  to  settle 
down  upon  him. 

The  great  necessity  for  the  middle-aged  man  is  that  he 
hold  on"  to  his  faith  and  optimism  and  hopefulness.     The 


53G  THE  l?ETJHl^:i)  MINISTER 

man  who  believes  in  the  future  really  never  grows  old;  the 
old  man  is  the  one  who  believes  in  the  past.  The  preacher 
who  is  ready  to  lead  his  people  on  into  the  new  and  better 
days  that  are  always  ahead  will  very  seldom  be  thrust  from 
his  place;  but  the  one  who  talks  overmuch  about  the  better 
days  that  are  gone,  and  tries  to  lead  back  to  them,  very  often 
will  be.  The  old  men  who  "dream  dreams"  are  on  an 
equality  with  the  young  men  who  "see  visions." 

It  is  really  a  fine  thing  to  see  middle-aged  men,  alert  and 
resourceful  and  buoyant  and  keeping  abreast  of  things  and 
leading  in  the  forward  movements  of  life;  and  it  is  an  espe- 
cially pleasing  thing  when  these  men  are  in  the  ministry  of 
the  Christian  Church. — The  Christian  Guardian. 


WANTED:  A  MINISTER'S  WIFE 

Wanted,  a  perfect  lady, 

Delicate,  gentle,   refined, 
With  every  beauty  of  person, 

And  every  endowment  of  mind: 
Fitted  by  early  culture 

To  move  in  fashionable  life — 
Please  note  our  advertisement: 

"Wanted,  a  Minister's  Wife!" 

Wanted,  a  thoroughbred  worker, 

Who  well  to  her  household  looks; 
(Shall  we  see  our  money  wasted 

By  extravagant  Irish  cooks?) 
Who  cuts  the  daily  expenses 

With  economy  sharp  as  a  knife. 
And  washes  and  scrubs  in  the  kitchen: 

"Wanted,  a  Minister's  Wife!" 

A  "very  domestic  person," 

To  "callers"  she  must  never  be  "out," 
It  has  such  a  bad  appearance 

For  her  to  be  gadding  about; 
Except  to  visit  a  parish 

Every  long  day  of  her  life, 
And  attend  all  the  funerals  and  weddings; 

"Wanted,  a  Minister's  Wife!" 

To  conduct  the  "Ladies'  Prayer  Meeting," 
The  Aid's  "sewing-circle"  attend; 

And  when  we  "work  for  the  soldiers," 
Her  ready  assistance  to  lend. 


STOKY  AND  SOXG  537 

To  clothe  the  destitute  children 

Where  sorrow  and  want  are  rife, 
And  look  up  new  Sunday  school  scholars: 

"Wanted,  a  Minister's  Wife!" 

With  courtesy  entertain  strangers,       ^, 

Traveling  agents  and  such;  m 

Of  this  kind  of  stray  "angels'  visits,^..' 

The  stewards  have  had  far  too  npmth, 
These  prove  so  perfect  a  nuisance 

That  they  hope  these  plagues  of  their  life 
Can  soon  be  sent  to  the  parson's: 

"Wanted,  a  Minister's  Wife!" 

A  perfect  pattern  of  prudence, 

Than  all  others  spending  much  less, 
But  never  disgracing  the  parish 

By  looking  too  shabby  in  dress; 
And  playing  the  organ  on  Sunday 

Would  aid  in  our  laudable  strife 
To  save  the  society's  money: 

"Wanted,  a  Minister's  Wife!" 

And  when  we  have  found  such  a  person. 

We  hope  that  by  working  the  two. 
We'll  pay  our  old  debt  and  build  newly. 

And  then  do  you  know  what  we'll  do? 
For  both  will  be  worn  out  and  weary. 

And  needing  new  change  in  their  life: 
We'll  advertise,  "Wanted — A  youngish 

New  Minister  and  with  a  New  Wife!" 


A  STEONG  CHUECH 
\Y.  B.  Mattesox 

You  are  a  "strong"  church — a  "leading  church"  in  your 
Conference.  Your  pastor  is  a  conspicuous,  influential  man. 
You  are  proud  of  him — of  the  position  you  have  given  him. 
You  pay  him  a  "good"  salary.  He  lives  in  a  modest  house 
in  a  respectable  neighborhood.  He  and  his  family  are  prop- 
erly clothed  (you  would  very  much  resent  him  in  a  shiny 
coat).  He  has  a  good  library  to  which  he  is  constantly  add- 
ing. He  can  occasionally  "travel."  He  gives  you  back  a 
good  part  of  his  salary — how  large  a  part  you  do  not  realize, 
for  he  is  always  giving,  here,  there,  everywhere.  He  never 
escapes  any  appeal — you  sometimes  do.  He  may  be  saving 
up  a  little  money — though  the  chances  are  that  he  isn't; 
almost  certainly  he  isn't,  if  he  has  children  to  educate.     He 


538  THE  EETIRED  MIXISTER 

is  possibly  carrying,  with  much  difficulty,  a  little  life  insur- 
ance. 

You  love  him.  If  he  fell  ill — you  would  be  kind.  If  he 
died,  you  would  for  a  while  anyway,  until  you  forgot,  care 
for  his  widow  and  children.  If  he  w^ere  to  grow  old  and 
pass  the  time  of  real  usefulness  while  still  your  pastor  you 
might,  if  he  had  been  with  you  for  a  long  time,  retire  him 
with  a  modest  pension.  If  he  had  only  been  with  you  a  few 
years — ^but  then  you  never  would  have  been  so  foolish  as  to 
call  an  old  man  who  might  obviously  in  a  few  years  become 
a  charge  upon  you!  In  a  word,  you  are  a  kind,  respectable 
people  who  would  wish  to  do  what  was  right  toward  your 
pastor  in  any  emergency,  and  would  do  it  so  far  as  you  saw 
and   understood. 

But,  because  you  are  a  strong  cliurch,  you  are  an  excep- 
tional  cliurcli.  Do  you  realize  that?  Do  you  not  know  that 
where  there  is  one  church  willing  and  able  to  do  so  mucli  as 
you,  there  are  at  least  ten  which  however  willing  they  might 
be  could  not  do  as  much  or  anything  like  enough  ? 

Do  you  not  know  that  where  there  is  one  pastor  as  com- 
fortable as  yours,  there  are  ten  whose  life  is  a  bitter  struggle 
to  secure  even  the  most  common  necessities  of  life — whose 
clothes  are  perpetually  shiny — to  whom  a  new  book  is  a  great 
rarity,  for  whom,  in  case  of  prolonged  illness  or  death,  their 
churches  could  make  no  adequate  provision  ? 

Because  you  are  a  rich  church  and  can  take  good  care  of 
your  pastor,  is  it  right  that  you  should  forget  the  others? 
Have  you  no  obligation  to  the  Church  and  to  the  ministry 
beyond  your  own  church  and  your  own  pastor?  How  large 
a  part  of  your  strength  came  to  you  from  small  churches 
whose  pastors  lived  on  miserably  inadequate  salaries  ? 

It  is  the  astonishing  peculiarity  of  the  work  for  ministerial 
relief  that  it  is  precisely  the  strong,  rich  churches  which  are 
most  negligent.  It  is  doubtless  because  they  are  farther  from 
the  need.  The  smaller  churches,  the  little  country  churches 
know.  They  send  in  their  contribution  and  "wish  they  could 
make  it  more";  ])ut  the  contributions  are  necessarily  small 
and  the  aggregate  of  them  quite  unequal  to  the  need.  But 
if  we  ask  a  churcli  which  gives  $5,000  to  benevolences  to 
give  this  cause  $500  it  would  be  simply  a  fair  proportion — 
a  proportion  which  many  moderate  churches  cheerfully  give. 


STORY  AXD  SONG  539 

The  strong  church  is  the  crux  of  this  situation.  Some  of 
them  are  doing  all  that  could  be  fairly  asked — some  are 
doing  even  more  than  they  are  asked.  But  for  the  most  part 
the  strong  chui'ches  fail  us.  When  they  begin  to  do — we  do 
not  say  their  '"proportional"  ])art — but  even  a  pai"t  of  the 
part  they  ouglit  in  fairness  to  do,  all  will  be  well. 


HAS  METHODISM  ITS  "FORGOTTEN  MAN"? 

As  we  look  over  the  Church  we  find  one  man  who  makes 
a  very  pathetic  picture  for  all  whose  hearts  are  watered  by 
the  springs  of  tender  feeling.  Bathed  in  the  twilight  of 
age  and  poverty,  he  sits  in  the  silent  places.  He  had  his  day. 
He  was  once  the  bravest,  blithest  toiler  in  the  field.  He  now 
can  only  pray  and  hope  and  hear  the  jocund  note  of  his 
more  active  brother  as  he  tells  the  tale  of  victories  achieved. 
He  is  the  worn-out  preacher — more  euphemistically  called 
the  "superannuate." 

Are  we  as  a  Church  forgetting  this  man  ? 

"No,"  you  say.  "See  how  we  remember  him.  Not  an 
Annual  Conference  passes  that  he  does  not  receive  his  little 
envelope  containing  a  check,  whose  denomination  has  been 
carefully  figured  out  by  a  body  of  wise  men." 

Yet  how  small  and  inadequate  is  this  stipend!  In  many 
cases  it  is  not  sufficient  to  support  him  through  more  than 
a  few  months  of  the  year.  In  many  cases  it  is  used  to  pay 
in  part  the  expense  of  the  preceding  year. 

Yes,  he  is  remembered  by  the  Church  in  a  way,  and  it  is 
to  its  credit  that  it  does  remember  him  to  this  extent.  We 
would  not  forget,  too,  that  the  General  Conference  adopted 
a  plan  for  raising  a  fund  of  $5,000,000;  that  this  plan  is 
being  pushed  vigorously  and  wisely. 

Yet,  when  we  consider  the  obligations  of  the  Church  to 
him,  his  actual  needs,  and  what  he  really  receives,  would 
it  be  a  mere  figure  of  speech  to  call  the  superannuate  "Meth- 
odism's Forgotten  Man"? 

For  the  reason  that  we  have  faith  in  God  and  in  his  people, 
we  look  for  a  day  when  the  superannuate  preacher  of  South- 
ern Methodism  will  receive  from  his  Church  that  practical 
financial  support  which  an  old  soldier  receives  from  his  gov- 
ernment, or  which  a  worn-out  employee  receives  from  the 


540  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

secular  institution.  The  time  will  come  when  we  will  be 
unwilling  as  a  Church  to  use  up  the  energies  of  our  men, 
and,  when  we  can  no  longer  utilize  them,  to  bestow  merely 
our  sympathy  on  them.  As  Christian  men  and  women,  we 
will  be  unwilling  to  bestow  our  gifts  on  the  sturdy  and  active, 
and  have  no  gift  ready  for  the  men  who  once  bore  the  heat 
and  burden  of  the  day. — The  Christian  Advocate  {Nashville), 


LOVE  AND  PET  ME  NOW 
T.  B.  Larimoke,  in  The  Christian  Advocate   (Nashville) 

Take  my  withered  hand  in  yours, 

Children  of  my  soul; 
Mother's  heart  is  craving  love, 

Mother's  growing  old. 
See  the  snows  of  many  years 

Crown  my  furrowed  brow. 
As  I've  loved  and  petted  you. 

Love  and  pet  me  now. 

Lay  your  hand  upon  my  head, 

Smooth  my  whitened  hair; 
I've  been  growing  old  the  while 

You've  been  growing  fair. 
I  have  toiled  and  prayed  for  you — 

Ask  not  why  or  how. 
As  I've  loved  and  petted  you, 

Love  and  pet  me  now. 

Take  my  withered  hand  in  yours, 

Children  of  my  heart. 
Mother's  growing  old;  your  love 

Makes  life's  sweetest  part. 
Touch  with  love  my  faded  cheeks, 

Kiss  my  anxious  brow. 
As  I've  loved  and  petted  you, 

Love  and  pet  me  now. 

Take  my  withered  hands  in  yours. 

Hold  them  close  and  strong; 
Cheer  me  with  a  fond  caress, 

'Twill  not  be  for  long. 
Youth  immortal  soon  will  crown 

With  its  wreath  my  brow. 
As  I've  loved  and  petted  you, 

Love  and  pet  me  now. 


STORY  AND  SONG  541 

Take  my  withered  hand  in  yours. 

This  your  heart  will  prove; 
If  you  owe  me  anything, 

Pay  the  debt  with  love. 
Press  me  in  your  strong  young  arms, 

Breathe  a  loving  vow. 
As  I've  loved  and  petted  you. 

Love  and  pet  me  now. 


MAKING  MONEY  FOR  GOD 

Alpheus  Hardy,  the  princely  benefactor  of  countless  good 
causes,  once  told  this  thrilling  experience : 

"I  am  not  a  college  man,  and  it  was  the  bitter  disappoint- 
ment of  my  life  that  I  could  not  go  to  college  and  become  a 
minister.  My  health  broke  down,  and,  in  spite  of  my  deter- 
mined hope  of  being  able  to  go  on,  the  truth  was  forced  on 
me  that  1  could  not. 

^'To  tell  my  disappointment  is  impossible.  It  seemed  as 
if  all  my  hope  and  purpose  in  life  were  defeated.  'I  cannot 
be  God's  minister,'  was  the  sentence  that  kept  rolling  through 
my  mind. 

"When  that  fact  at  last  became  certain  to  me,  one  morn- 
ing— alone  in  my  room — my  distress  was  so  great  that  I 
threw  myself  flat  on  the  floor,  with  the  voiceless  cry,  '0  God, 
I  cannot  be  Thy  minister !'  Then  there  came  to  me  as  I 
lay,  a  vision,  a  new  hope,  a  perception  that  I  could  serve  God 
in  business  with  the  same  devotion  as  in  preaching,  and  that 
to  make  money  for  God  might  be  my  sacred  calling. 

"The  vision  of  this  service  and  its  nature  as  a  sacred 
ministry  was  so  clear  and  joyous  that  I  rose  to  my  feet,  and 
with  new  hope  in  my  heart  exclaimed  aloud,  ^0  God,  I  can 
be  Thy  minister!  I  will  go  back  to  Boston.  /  will  make 
money  for  God,  and  that  sliall  he  rny  ministry.' 

"From  that  time  I  have  felt  myself  as  much  appointed  and 
ordained  to  make  money  for  God  as  if  I  had  been  permitted 
to  carry  out  my  own  plan  and  had  been  ordained  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  I  am  God's  man,  and  the  ministry  to  which  God 
called  me  is  to  make  and  administer  money  for  Him,  and  I 
consider  myself  responsible  to  discharge  this  ministry  and 
to  give  account  of  it  to  Him." 


543  THI^  EETIEED  MINISTEK 

THE  OLD  PACKING  BOXES 

Song  of  the  Itinerant's  Wife 
By  Mrs.   E.   M.   McKibbin. 

How  dear  to  my  heart  are  the  old  packing  boxes, 

Piled  out  of  the  way  in  the  loft  of  the  shed, 
Infested  with  spiders  and  'broidered  with  cobwebs, 

They're  patiently  waiting  high  up  over  head. 
Serenely  they  wait  for  the  verdict  of  Conference, 

Undisturbed  by  the  fiat  "Go  forth"  or  "Go  back," 
As  the  days  hasten  on  for  the  annual  flitting 

When  the  Methodist  preacher  is  ordered  to  pack: 
The  old  wooden  boxes,  the  dust-covered  boxes, 

The  iron-bound  boxes  the  preacher  must  pack. 

How  often  when  Conf'rence  is  over  we  hasten 

To  pull  down  the  boxes  and  brush  off  the  dust. 
And  take  up  the  carpets  and  take  down  the  curtains. 

And  wrap  up  the  dishes;  for  pack  up  we  must. 
Ah,  me!  who  can  tell  of  the  work  and  the  worry. 

The  din  and  confusion  from  morning  till  night. 
The  rush  and  the  whirl — till  a  well-ordered  household 

Has  lost  its  headquarters — demoralized  quite: 
The  old  wooden  boxes,  the  iron-bound  boxes, 

The  old  packing  boxes  all  ready  for  flight. 

'Tis  easy  to  pack  all  the  goods  and  the  chattels, 

The  old  packing  boxes  are  spacious  and  wide. 
We  can  carry  the  bird-cage,  the  cat,  and  the  chickens; 

We  can  ship  the  old  cow  and  the  horses  beside; 
But  the  friends  we  have  known,  and  the  hearts  we  have  tested. 

The  communion  of  souls  that  were  kindred  and  dear. 
The  trust  and  the  love  that  consoled  in  affliction, 

The  words  and  the  smiles  that  encourage  and  cheer. 
Are  not  packed  in  the  boxes,  the  old  wooden  boxes, 

The  iron-bound  boxes,  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

These  are  folded  away  in  the  heart's  inner  recess. 

Like  flowers  that  blossomed  away  from  the  light, 
Unforgotten  they  yield  their  perfume  like  a  censer. 

These  memory-blossoms,  so  precious,  so  bright. 
When  the  Bishop  of  souls  makes  our  final  appointment. 

And  we  make  our  last  move  from  the  charges  of  time. 
We  shall  welcome  a  crown  and  an  entrance  abundant 

To  mansions  of  glory,  eternal,  sublime; 
Bid  farewell  to  the  boxes,  the  iron-bound  boxes, 

That  so  often  we  packed  after  Conference  time. 


STOIIY  AND  SONG  543 

AGED  MINISTERS 

The  need  of  relief  for  ministers  of  the  gospel  has  impressed 
itself  upon  the  conscience  of  Christian  people.  The  difficulty 
does  not  lie  so  much  in  the  illiberality  of  the  members  as  in 
their  uninformed  understanding  of  the  subject. 

Almost  all  the  people  respond  to  a  special  call  for  relief. 
A  few  words  from  the  pastor  of  each  congregation  is  enough, 
if  only  he  overcomes  his  natural  delicacy,  which  should  not 
be  as  great  as  if  he  were  asking  for  himself.  For  instance,  a 
congregation  in  an  Episcopal  parish  in  Pittsburgh  increased 
its  offerings  to  the  general  Clergy  Relief  Fund  from  $200  to 
$2,000  simply  because  the  rector  took  the  trouble  to  discuss 
the  matter  candidly  in  a  sermon  whose  telling  point  was  the 
contrast  between  the  comfortable  condition  of  a  retired  army 
chaplain  on  $1,800  a  year  and  the  insupportable  lot  of  an- 
other clergyman  of  the  same  Church  who  had  toiled  and 
starved  on  $600  a  year,  and  now  with  his  library  sold, 
decrepit  and  infirm  was  facing  the  problem  of  existence. 

Many  dioceses  or  Conferences  have  considerable  funds  to 
assist  their  own  retired  clergymen.  Nevertheless  this  local 
arrangement  works  rather  in  the  interests  of  the  pastors  of 
rich  and  influential  congregations  and  against  the  ministers 
in  the  small  parish  or  mission.  Members  of  prosperous  and 
wealthy  congregations  can  hardly  realize  that  there  are  many 
poor  churches  which  can  scarcely  give  the  necessaries  of 
life  to  their  ministers,  to  say  nothing  of  providing  relief  for 
their  old  as-e. 


A  NICKEL  FOR  THE  LORD 

He  wore  a  rose  on  his  coat,  but  when  the  plate  was  passed 
gave  a  nickel  to  the  Lord.  He  had  several  bills  in  his  pocket 
and  silver  change,  but  he  hunted  out  this  poor  nickel  and 
gave  it  to  aid  the  Church  militant  in  its  fight  against  the 
world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil.  His  silk  hat  was  on  the  seat; 
his  gloves  and  cane  were  beside  it,  and  the  nickel  was  on 
the  plate,  a  ivhole  nickel. 

He  met  a  friend;  the  cash  register  recorded  $1.35,  and  he 
handed  the  l)oy  a  dime.  A  nickel  to  the  Lord  and  a  dime  to 
the  waiter !    He  had  his  shoes  polished  and  handed  the  Greek 


r>44  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

a  dime  without  a  murmur.  He  had  a  shave  and  paid  his 
c'lieck  of  fifteen  cents  and  "tipped'^  the  barber  a  dime.  He 
took  a  l)ox  of  candies  to  his  wife,  tied  with  a  dainty  ribbon. 
I  Fe  paid  fifty  cents  for  it,  and  gave  a  nickel  to  the  Lord. 

Wlio  is  this  Lord? 

This  nickel-giver  worships  Him  as  tlie  Creator  of  the  uni- 
verse, the  One  who  put  the  stars  in  order  and  by  whose  im- 
mutable decree  the  heavens  stand — and  he  dropped  a  nickel  on 
ilie  plate  to  support  his  Church.  The  Lord  being  slow  to  anger 
and  remembering  his  size  did  not  slay  this  mean  little  fellow, 
but  gave  him  liis  daily  bread. 

But  the  nickel  tras  ashamed,  if  the  man  was  not.  It  slunk 
from  sight  beneath  the  quarter  given  by  a  poor  woman  who 
washes  for  a  living. 


THE  SAINTS  WHO  FROM  THEIR  LABORS  REST 

For  all  the  saints  who  from  their  labors  rest, 
Who  Thee  by  faith  before  the  world  confessed, 
Thy  name,  O  Jesus,  be  forever  blest. 
Alleluia! 

Thou  wast  their  rock,  their  fortress,  and  their  might; 
Thou,  Lord,  their  captain  in  the  well-fought  fight; 
Thou,  in  the  darkness  drear,  their  one  true  light 
Alleluia! 

O  may  Thy  soldiers,  faithful,  true,  and  bold, 
Fight  as  the  saints  who  nobly  fought  of  old, 
And  win,  with  them,  the  victors'  crown  of  gold. 
Alleluia! 

The  golden  evening  brightens  in  the  west; 
Soon,  soon  to  faithful  warriors  cometh  rest; 
Sweet  is  the  calm  of  Paradise  the  blest. 
Alleluia! 

But  lo!  there  breaks  a  yet  more  glorious  day; 
The  saints  triumphant  rise  in  bright  array; 
The  King  of  Glory  passes  on  His  way. 
Alleluia! 

From  earth's  wide  bounds,  from  ocean's  farthest  coast, 
Through  gates  of  pearl,  streams  in  the  countless  host, 
Singing  to  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
Alleluia! 

—Bishop  William  W.  How,  1864. 


STORY  AND  SONG  545 

PLEA  FOR  THE  YOUNG  MINISTER 
Dr.  p.  S.  Henson 

I  plead  not  only  for  the  battle-scarred  veterans  whose  fight- 
ing days  are  over,  but  for  the  young-blooded,  high-mettled, 
oncoming  heroes,  who  are  girding  on  their  armor  for  the 
fray  wliich  summons  them,  that,  unvexed  l)y  fear  of  future 
want,  they  may  give  themselves  with  utter  abandon  to  that 
high  calling  with  which  heaven  has  honored  them. 

How  many  a  minister  in  the  prime  of  his  powers  is  heavily 
handicapped  by  the  felt  necessity  of  making  provision,  while 
health  and  strength  last,  against  the  peril  of  poverty  when 
the  evil  days  come,  as  come  they  will,  when  heart  and  flesh 
shall  fail  him,  and  he  who  has  spent  all  his  powers  in  caring 
for  other  people's  perishing  souls  shall  find  nobody  to  care 
for  his  perishing  body. 

As  he  looks  about  him  at  the  poverty  of  men  whose  voices 
once  rang  out  like  a  clarion  call,  and  upon  whose  eloquent 
lips  delighted  thousands  hung,  but  who  are  now  hobbling 
along  to  humble  graves  with  none  so  poor  as  to  do  them 
reverence,  is  it  any  wonder  that  he  feels  as  if  he  owes  it  to 
himself  and  those  he  loves  to  make  provision,  while  he  may, 
against  such  pitiful  experience  ?  And  who  can  tell  how  much 
of  splendid  possibility  of  ministerial  power  is  sacrificed  to 
such  felt  necessity? 


STATESMEN  AND  MINISTERS 
President  Roosevelt: 

"I  have  made  quite  a  study  of  American  history  and  have 
always  been  greatly  interested  in  the  thrust  of  our  people 
westward  across  the  continent,  that  movement  which  began 
during  Revolutionary  days,  and  which  from  its  beginning 
included  as  the  spiritual  leaders  of  the  pioneers  an  extra- 
ordinary proportion  of  preachers  of  the  Methodist  Church. 
It  was  the  Methodist  preacher  who  gave  to  the  backwoods- 
men, as  they  lived  in  their  stockaded  villages  among  the 
dotted  clearings,  the  spiritual  life  that  prevented  them  from 
going  down  overwhelmed  in  the  hard  materialism  of  their 
surroundings." 

Vice-President   Fairbanks:   "The  ministers,  who  have 


546  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

given  their  lives  in  the  fullest  and  best  sense  of  the  word  to 
the  good  of  their  fellow  men,  should  he  l)ountifully  provided 
for  when  the  infirmities  of  age  and  other  disabilities  have 
come  upon  them." 

Senator  Dollivkr:  ''It  is  the  pressing  duty  of  the  Church 
to  see  to  it  that  the  old  age  of  its  faithful  retired  servants 
should  not  be  eml)arrasscd  l)y  poverty  and  want." 

(JOVERXOR    DURBIX,    OF    INDIANA!     ''Xotlling    is    toO    gOOd 

for  the  men  Avho  have  worn  themselves  out  in  the  service  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 


THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  CHURCH 

Hats  off  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic ! 

But  where  camp  the  men  who  have  fought  the  battles  of 
the  Church  in  the  places  of  hardship  and  danger,  and  who 
now  are  old?  Hats  off  for  these,  the  Grand  Army  of  Aged 
Ministers ! 

Yes,  and  while  your  hats  are  off,  pass  them;  pass  them 
farther  around  than  they  have  yet  gone;  put  more  into  thesm 
than  the  pittance  you  have  been  wont  to  contribute.         •  r*  r/ 

Larger  pensions  for  our  heroes !  -^jm. 

It  is  much  to  their  credit,  but  it  is  little  to  the  credit  of 
the  Church  that  so  few  of  these  heroes  of  the  hard  places  die 
in  the  poorhouse. 

You,  reader,  whose  eye  at  this  moment  falls  on  this  editor- 
ial, how  much  did  you  do  last  year  to  make  it  impossible  for 
aged  ministers  to  die  in  the  poorhouse?  Are  you  proud  of 
your  gift  ? 

The  Gettysburg  heroes  draw  pensions,  every  man  of  them, 
even  though  some  of  them  may  never  have  smelt  powder.  But 
not  one  in  ten  of  the  disabled  Veterans  of  our  Grand  Army 
of  the  Ministry,  has  a  pension,  and  those  who  have  one  have 
but  a  beggar's  pittance. 

Go  now,  while  you  think  of  it,  and  get  your  checkbook. 

Hats  off  for  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Church !  And  while 
the  hats  are  off,  pass  tliem  and  fill  them ! 


MINISTERS'  SONS 

The  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  in  Great  Britain  main- 
tains two  schools — Kingswood   and  Woodhouse    Grove — for 


STORY  AND  SONG  547 

the  education  of  sons  of  Methodist  preachers.  What  we  would 
call  an  alumni  volume  has  recently  been  published,  giving 
some  account  of  the  subsequent  career  of  3,221  former  stu- 
dents, from  which  it  appears  that  515  have  entered  the 
Wesleyan  ministry;  135  have  taken  orders  in  the  Church  ot 
Enoland;  and  forty-four  have  become  ministers  of  other  de- 
nominations. About  eight  hundred  have  gone  into  business. 
Two  hundred  and  eighty-one  are  teachers.  Medicine  claims 
253;  pharmacv,  213 ;  engineering,  164;  law,  104;  civil  service, 
117-  and  so  on.  Art,  literature,  the  drama  and  music  to- 
gether employ  the  energies  of  thirty-one.  Eighteen  of  these 
ministers'  sons  have  become  presidents  of  the  Confei;ence; 
four  have  achieved  the  distinction  of  fellowship  m  the  Royal 
Society  and  twenty-seven  have  been  fellows  at  Oxford  or 
Cambridge.  One  of  the  lawyers  is  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Lords  and  has  held  high  cabinet  offices,  and  eleven  others 
have  been  members  of  Parliament. 

BE  A  BOOSTER 
Homer  Clark  Bennett,  M.D. 
Do  you  know  there's  lots  o'  people, 

Settin'  'round  in  every  town, 
Growlin'  like  a  broody  chicken, 

Knockin'  every  good  thing  down? 
Don't  you  be  that  kind  of  cattle, 

'Cause  they  ain't  no  use  on  earth. 
You  just  be  a  booster  rooster. 

Crow  an'  boost  for  all  you're  worth. 

If  things  don't  just  seem  to  suit  you 

An'  the  world  seems  kinder  wrong 
What's  the  matter  with  a  boostin'. 

Just  to  help  the  thing  along; 
'Cause  if  things  should  stop  a-gom'. 

We'd  be  in  a  sorry  plight, 
You  just  keep  that  horn  a-blowin', 

Boost  'er  up  with  all  your  might. 

If  you  see  some  feller  tryin' 

For  to  make  some  project  go, 
You  can  boost  it  up  a  trifle. 

That's  your  cue  to  let  him  know- 
That  you're  not  a-goin'  to  knock  it,^^ 

Just  because  it  ain't  your  "shout," 
But  you're  goin'  to  boost  a  little, 

'Cause  he's  got  "the  best  thing  out." 


518  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

THE  PRESBYTERIANS 

The  work  of  relief  is  now  carried  on  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  through  its  General  Board  of  Relief.  While  the 
avowed  basis  is  service  and  the  idea  of  charity  is  strongly 
repudiated,  help  is  actually  conditioned  by  need.  The  Board 
received  last  year:  from  the  churches,  $122,000;  from  in- 
terest on  endowments,  $90,000;  from  legacies,  $45,000 — in 
all,  $260,000.    It  gave  relief  to  1,197  persons. 

Within  a  few  years  the  Presbyterians  have  harked  back 
toward  their  original  plan  and  established  a  ministers'  susten- 
tation  fund,  the  ministers  contributing,  the  Church  adding, 
with  distribution  as  need  arises.  The  Board  having  this 
plan  in  charge  have  raised  over  $100,000  in  two  years;  640 
out  of  9,000  Presbyterian  ministers  have  joined,  it  is  already 
paying  benefits  to  eleven  widows  and  six  disabled  ministers. 

The  Presbyterians  have  two  "homes" — one  has  sixteen,  the 
other  fourteen  inmates.  In  the  home  which  has  sixteen  in- 
mates, but  one  is  an  old  minister. 


OLD  AGE,  THE  INDIAN  SUMMER  OF  LIFE 

Some  one  has  well  said  that  of  all  the  seasons  of  the  year 
in  our  American  climate  there  is  none  so  tender,  so  beautiful, 
so  weird  and  unearthly,  so  fascinating  and  perfect  as  Indian 
Summer.  After  the  buds,  blossoms,  heat,  and  harvests  of 
summer ;  after  the  autumn  fruits  and  frosts,  when  the  forests 
are  mantled  in  crimson,  fire  and  gold,  when  chill  winds  and 
vagrant  snow  squalls  warn  of  the  approach  of  winter,  then 
some  invisible  hand  seizes  the  galloping  steeds  of  the  seasons 
and  reins  them  up  suddenly  for  a  few  days,  while  earth,  air, 
and  sky  weave  around  the  weather-beaten  brow  of  the  year 
the  golden  crown  of  Indian  Summer.  The  sun  pours  down 
a  soft  and  dreamy  golden  light;  the  sky  is  robed  with  a 
delicate  purplish  gauze  that  seems  to  float  everywhere;  the 
air  is  balmy  and  caressing.  There  is  a  bewitching  charm  in 
the  unearthly  spell  that  has  been  cast  upon  nature. 

And  so  God  designs  old  age  to  be  the  Indian  Summer  of 
life,  the  gentlest,  the  tenderest,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  of 
life's  seasons;  for  he  says:  "And  even  to  your  old  age  I  am 
He;  and  even  to  hoary  hairs  I  will  carry  and  will  deliver 


STORY  AND  SONG  549 

you."  God's  special  care  and  love  for  old  age  marks  it  as  the 
Indian  Summer  of  earth's  pilgrimage. — Baltimore  Southern 
Methodist. 


THE  SECOND  MILE 
The  Watchman 
By  Stephen  Moore 
Whosoever  shall  compel  thee  to  go  a  mile  go  with  him  twain. 

Matt.  5.  41. 

Stern  Duty  said,  "Go  walk  a  mile 
And  help  thy  brother  bear  his  load. 

I  walked  reluctant,  but  meanwhile 
My  heart  grew  soft  with  help  bestowed. 

Then  Love  said,  "Go  another  mile." 
I  went,  and  Duty  spoke  no  more. 

But  Love  arose  and  with  a  smile 
Took  all  the  burden  that  I  bore. 

'Tis  ever  thus  when  Duty  calls; 

If  we  spring  quickly  to  obey, 
Love  comes,  and,  whatsoe'er  befalls, 

We're  glad  to  help  another  day. 

The  second  mile  we  walked  with  joy; 

Heaven's  peace  goes  with  us  on  the  road, 
So  let  us  all  our  powers  employ 

To  help  our  brother  bear  life's  load. 


THE  VILLAGE  CHAPEL 
Lloyd  George 
No  profession  demands  as  high  qualities  of  head  and  heart 
as  the  ministry.  Think  of  the  catalogue  of  virtues  which 
you  demand !  judgment,  tact,  discretion,  patience,  sobriety, 
temperance — every  virtue  in  the  catalogue.  In  addition  to 
that  you  demand  knowledge  and  intelligence;  and  expect  to 
get  all  these  virtues  for  26s.  a  week.  Try  that  on  the  doctor ! 
You  cannot  keep  all  those  virtues  alive  and  respectable  on 
a  pittance,  because  the  ministers  must  not  merely  be  re- 
spectable, but  must  look  respectable,  and  they  certainly  can- 
not provide  food,  clothing,  houses  and  doctoring  for  them- 
selves and  their  families  on  the  wretched  pittance  which  they 


550  THE  PtETIRED  MINISTER 

are  getting  at  the  present  moment,  and  it  is  a  cruelty  to 
demand  it  at  their  hands. 

And  Avhat  al)out  l)ooks?  A  minister  is  not  like  a  carpenter 
or  a  bricklayer,  who  equips  himself  with  the  implements  of 
his  trade  at  the  beginning  of  his  trade  and  gets  through  life. 
He  must  renew  them  every  year;  he  has  a  wily  opponent  to 
meet,  and  up-to-date,  who  has  the  most  modern  inventions, 
and  the  preacher  must  meet  him.  In  the  villages  people  read, 
and  the  days  have  gone  when  a  minister  could  pull  through 
with  a  second-hand  copy  of  Barnes'  Commentary. 


THE  BLIND  GIEL  KNOWS 

I  know  what  Mother's  face  is  like, 
Though  it  I  cannot  see:  — 
It's  like  the  music  of  the  bell ; 
It's  like  the  way  the  roses  smell; 
It's  like  the  stories  fairies  tell. 
It's  all  of  these  to  me. 

I  know  what  Father's  face  is  like, 

I'm  sure  I  know  it  all:  — 

It's  like  his  footstep  on  the  stair; 

It's  like  his  whistle  on  the  air; 

It's  like  his  arms  that  take  such  care, 

Nor  ever  let  me  fall. 

And  I  can  tell  what  God  is  like. 
The  God  whom  no  one  sees:  — 
He's  everything  that  Mother  means; 
He's  everything  that  Father  seems; 
He's  like  my  very  sweetest  dreams; 
But  greater  than  all  these. 


THE  STORY  THE  SADDLEBAGS  TELL 

The  Rev.  T.  F.  Royal  .: '^ 

"The  saddlebags  were  the  traveling  preacher's  library  and 
wardrobe  and  often  his  larder;  sometimes  the  bin  for  his 
horse's  oats,  a  peck  at  a  time.  Outward  bound  they  were  al- 
ways loaded  with  Bibles,  Sunday  school  libraries,  and, other 
books  from  the  ^Concern.'  Inward  bound,  they  came  loaded 
with  ham,  a  flitch  of  bacon,  a  chunk  of  fresh  meat,  or  a 
dressed  chicken  or  turkey.     They  have  conveyed  all  kinds  of 


STORY  AND  SONG  551 

dry  goods,  groceries,  boots,  shoes,  hardware  aud  more  than 
once  an  assortnienit  of  Christmas  toys.  These  bags  have 
been  stretched  to  their  utmost  capacity  with  vegetables  of  all 
kmds.  They  have  ventured  to  cargo  such  explosives  as  eggs 
by  the  dozen,  gallons  of  sauerkraut,  often  a  whole  cheese,  and 
once  a  gallon  of  soft  soap;  and  many  a  time,  fruits — fresh, 
dried,  canned  and  preserved.  All  these  were  usually  comited 
on  ^quarterage.' 

"To  the  itinerant's  wife  the  saddlebags  were  like  a  pack 
of  Providence,  and  to  his  children  their  opening  was  like  the 
coming  of  Santa  Claus.  Those  faithful  receptacles  always 
brought  some  happy  surprise  for  the  whole  household.'' 


HE  LEFT  ALL 

A  Vanderbilt  died  a  few  days  ago  leaving  an  estate  of  forty 
million  dollars,  all  of  which  was  poured  back  into  the  coffers 
of  his  family.  He  will  be  numbered  among  those  who  reverse 
the  truth  of  God  to  make  it  read,  "It  is  more  blessed  to  receive 
than  to  give."  Having  received  bounteously,  he  failed  in  that 
final  and  most  gracious  act  of  returning  to  society  a  part  of 
what  he  could  not  have  secured  alone.  The  day  is  coming 
when  a  man  will  not  dare  go  out  of  the  world  with  the 
epitaph:  "He  left  $40,000,000  heliind  hirn  and  not  one  cent 
hefore  him  J" 

In  this  case  no  one  was  disappointed,  because  no  one  ex- 
pected anything  different.  The  really  sad  cases  are  those  of 
rich  Methodists  who  thus  die  poor;  "having"  changed  the 
glory  of  the  uncorruptible  God  into  an  image  made  like  unto 
corruptible  man  (Lincoln  pennies),  and  to  birds  (eagle 
pennies),  and  four-footed  beasts  (buffalo  nickels)  ;  who  wor- 
ship and  serve  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator." 

What  an  irony  to  call  them  "rich" !  Like  the  rich  Laodi- 
ceans  they  say,  "I  am  rich  and  increased  with  goods  and  have 
need  of  nothing  and  know  not  that  they  are  wretched  and 
miserable  and  poor." 


SOUTHERN  PACIFIC  RAILEOAD 

Since  the  inauguration  of  the  Pension  Department  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Company,  1903,  nearly  one  million  dollars 


552  THE  KETIRED  MINISTER 

has  been  voluntarily  disbursed  among  the  retired  employees 
of  that  corporation;  the  precise  amount  being  $850,608. 

The  total  disbursements  for  June  were  $14,010.35,  divided 
among  420  men  and  women,  retired  employees  of  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Company. 


NEW  YORK  CITY  FIRE  DEPARTMENT  PENSIONS 

The  New  York  City  Fire  Department  Relief  Fund  report 
for  1914  shows  an  increase  of  forty-five  annuitants,  the 
smallest  in  many  years. 

There  are  1,681  annuitants  on  the  pension  rolls,  drawing 
$1,063,739.73  annually;  a  net  increase  of  $27,283.33  over 
the  amount  paid  during  1913. 


THROWN  TO  THE  SCRAP  HEAP 

At  the  recent  session  of  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference, 
fifty-five  ministers,  many  of  them  men  of  ability  and  learn- 
ing, were  retired  from  active  work.  The  Methodist  Recorder 
says:  "It  is  one  of  the  grim  ironies  of  our  itinerant  system 
that  at  a  period  when  other  skilled  workers  are  in  the  prime 
of  power,  these  spiritual  laborers  should  be  seeking  the 
shades.  At  sixty  a  cabinet  minister  would  be  thought  to  have 
his  most  distinguished  years  ahead,  and  ministers  of  other 
Churches  are  steadily  advancing  to  widest  influence." 

The  Recorder  finds  an  explanation  of  the  existing  condi- 
tions in  the  fact  of  ^"^the  invitations  given  to  junior  men  for 
filling  the  most  responsible  positions,"  and  adds  that  "sensi- 
tive, gifted  men,  when  invitations  fail,  think  they  hear  the 
'knell  of  parting  day.^ "  Whether  this  explanation  be  en- 
tirely correct  we  cannot  say,  but  we  are  certain  that  it  con- 
tains elements  of  the  truth.  In  the  Churches  of  America  as 
Avell  as  those  of  England  there  is  a  clamor  for  younger  men. 
Bishop  Hoss  has  called  it  "a  popular  demand  for  greens." 
It  is  reported  of  Bishop  Candler  that  when  a  committee  told 
him  that  what  they  needed  in  their  pastor  was  "young  blood," 
he  replied,  "0,  no,  brethren !  You  are  in  error  about  that. 
Half  the  pulpits  are  suffering  now  from  cholera  infantum." 

To  cast  aside  a  whole  class  of  men  simply  because  they 
have  reached  a  certain  age  is  a  cruelty  and  a  costly  waste. 


FORMAL  PROCEEDINGS  553 

FORMAL  PROCEEDINGS 
OF  THE  WASHINGTON  CONVENTION 

Tuesday,  October  27,  1914. 

The  first  National  Convention  in  behalf  of  the  Retired 
Ministers  and  other  Conference  Claimants  met  in  the  Metro- 
politan Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Washington,  D,  C,  on 
Tuesday  afternoon,  October  27.  Dr.  James  S.  Montgomery, 
Minister,  and  his  Board  of  Trustees  generously  placed  this 
church,  admirably  adapted  for  holding  large  gatherings,  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Convention. 

Bishop  Earl  Cranston,  D.D,,  LL.D.,  senior  bishop, 
opened  the  Convention  and  conducted  the  devotional  services, 
the  Rev.  George  C.  Wilding,  D.D.,  of  the  Newark  Conference 
leading  in  prayer. 

Bishop  Cranston's  Address 

Bishop  Cranston  addressed  the  Convention  as  follows : 
"In  some  things  we  are  permitted  to  depart  from  the  ex- 
ample of  the  fathers,  but  in  the  spirit  of  our  common  Min- 
istry we  are  bound  for  time  and  eternity.  So  long  as  we  find 
ourselves  among  those  to  whom  for  the  time  being  the  cause 
of  God  and  of  men  is  committed,  it  behooves  us  to  prove 
our  loyalty  and  fitness  not  only  by  fidelity  of  speech,  industry 
of  action  and  reverence  of  spirit,  but  also  by  devising  the 
means  that  may  contribute  immediately  or  remotely  to  the 
ultimate  victory  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  that  kind  of  service  we 
are  engaged  to-day. 

"I  am  called  away  from  other  tasks  on  one  of  my  busiest 
days;  but  I  am  not  sorry  to  find  myself  here  to  invoke  upon 
you  a  blessing,  and  to  voice  a*  prayer  that  God  will  be  with 
you  in  all  your  counsels  together,  and  that  out  of  these  days 
of  communing  and  detei*mining  there  shall  come  a  campaign 
that  shall  issue  in  victory.  I  see  that  District  Superintend- 
ents from  the  Washington  Area  are  here.  I  addressed  all  of 
them  individually.  It  was  not  possible  for  some  to  be  here, 
and  others  will  yet  arrive.  I  am  sure  they  do  not  object  to 
what  was  almost  an  episcopal  command;  for  the  hearts  of 
all  our  preachers  are  in  this  task.  If  we  can  only  communi- 
cate to  the  Church  the  convictions  we  hold,  Dr.  Hingeley  and 


554  THE  RETIRED  MINISTER 

the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  and  his  associates  in  the 
Annual  Conferences  will  have  little  difficulty  in  achieving 
what  they  have  undertaken.  But  the  conviction  must  first 
possess  us ;  and  we  must  be  so  completely  dominated  by  what 
appears  to  us  to  be  the  command  of  God  to  do  a  work  of 
justice  that  we  shall  go  courageously  forward. 

"On  the  battle-line  yonder  they  are  fighting  desperately,  and 
none  can  tell  what  the  issue  will  be.  But  that  is'  not  our 
kind  of  a  fight.  We  are  engaged  in  setting  before  the  Church 
a  cause  which  is  absolutely  just.  Its  foundations  as  set  forth 
in  our  book  of  Discipline  are  impregnable.  I  shall  never 
be  sorry  that  I  was  present  when  the  words  were  first  written 
and  shall  never  forget  that  it  was  a  great  layman,  Robert  T. 
Miller,  who  insisted  that  it  should  go  in  as  the  fundamental 
proposition  that  'the  claim  to  a  comfortable  support  inheres 
in  the  Gospel  Ministry' ;  and  that  'such  is  not  invalidated 
hy  his  being  retired,  and  at  his  death  passes  to  the  dependetit 
members  of  his  family.' 

"On  such  a  foundation  you  have  been  building,  and  on  that 
proposition  I  believe  the  Church  will  be  found  ready  to  carry 
forward  the  1915  CAMPAIGN  that  has  been  ordered  by  the 
General  Conference." 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Hingeley,  D.D.,  Corresponding  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  made  a  statement  as 
to  the  business  and  scope  of  the  Convention. 

Officers  and  Committees  were  elected  as  follows:  Presiding 
Officers  to  be  the  Bishops  when  they  could  be  present. 

Officers 

A^ice-Presidents  :  The  Rev.  E.  M.  Mills,  D.D.,  Central 
New  York  Conference;  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Van  Cleve,  D.D., 
Illinois  Conference;  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Leonard,  D.D.,  New  Eng- 
land Conference;  the  Rev.  E.  L.  Decker,  D.D.,  Tjoy  Confer- 
ence ;  and  Mr.  J.  L.  Transue,  Williamson,  N.  Y.,  Central  New 
York  Conference. 

Secretary:  The  Rev.  M.  E.  Snyder,  Ph.D.,  New  Jersey 
Conference;  Assistant  Secretary,  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Youker,  Rock 
River  Conference ;  the  Rev.  C.  R.  Oaten,  Northern  Minnesota 
Conference. 

Publicity  Secretaries  :  The  Rev.  Horace  Lincoln  Jacobs, 
D.D.,    Central    Pennsylvania    Conference ;  the    Rev.    L,    M. 


FORMAL  PROCEEDINGS  555 

Chambers,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  W.  L.  McDowell,  RR,  Balti- 
more Conference;  the  Rev  E.  C  E.  Donon,  D.D.,  New 
Hampshire  Conference;  the  l^evWB  Norton  D.D  Rock 
River  Conference;  and  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Pearce,  D.D.,  Central 
New  York  Conference. 

Committee  on  Nominations  and  Convention  AVork: 
The  Rev  C  W.  Baldwin,  D.D.,  Baltimore  Conference;  the 
Rev  F  T  Keeney,  D.D.,  Central  New  York  Conference ;  the 
Rev'  TJ  G.  Humphrey,  D.D.,  West  Ohio  Conference;  the 
Rev  I  H.  Lidstone,  D.D.,  East  Maine  Conference;  and  the 
Rev.  J.  B.  Hingeley,  D.D.,  Northern  Minnesota  Conference. 

After  the  organization  of  the  Convention,  the  afternoon 
proo-ram  was  carried  out  without  a  single  break.  Every 
speaker  was  there  with  his  paper.  This  was  practically  true 
of  the  entire  program. 

Greetings 

Mr.  Justice  Thomas  H.  Anderson,  one  of  the  supreme 
indexes  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  a  member  ot  the 
MetWolitan  Church,  greeted  the  members  of  the.  Conven- 
tion and  gave  them  a  warm  and  hearty  welcome  to  the  iNa- 
tional  Capital,  on  behalf  of  himself  and  church  and  the 
Methodism  of  AYashington.  The  Rev.  Joseph  W.  \  an  Cleve, 
D.D.,  responded  in  the  name  of  the  Convention,    (bee  page 

335.) 

President  \\  ilson 

A  letter  from  the  President  of  the  United  States  was  read 
conveying  his  greetings  and  expressing  his  sincere  hope  that 
"the  cause  of  Justice  and  Benevolence"  represented  by  the 
Convention  might  be  successfully  carried  out.  (See  page  617.) 
The  letter  was  received  with  great  applause  and  by  resolution, 
unanimously  adopted,  the  Secretary  was  requested  to  express 
to  the  President  the  pleasure  of  the  Convention  upon  receiv- 
ing his  letter  and  its  high  appreciation  of  his  greetings  and 
well  wishes.     (See  page  318.) 

The  Rev  J.  B.  Hingeley,  D.D.,  gave  an  address  on  ihe 
Problem  and  Its  Solution.''  The  next  three  papers  were 
under  the  general  head  of  "Present  Orgamzations  m  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  the  support  of  Conference 
Claimants.    "Methodism's  Oldest  Institution— The  Chartered 


556  THE  RETIEED  MINISTER 

Fund"  was  read  by  the  Rev.  Elwin  Hitchcock,  D.D.,  Agent 
of  the  Permanent  Fund  of  the  New  Hampshire  Conference. 
The  Rev.  George  P.  Mains,  D.D.,  of  the  New  York  East 
Conference,  one  of  the  Publishing  Agents  of  The  Methodist 
Book  Concern,  read  a  paper  on  "The  Claimants'  Great  Asset 
— The  Book  Concern  Dividend."     (See  page  409.) 

The  Rev.  John  Krantz,  D.D.,  Newark  Conference,  read  a 
sketch  of  "Ezekiel  Cooper  and  John  Dickins."  (See  page 
451.)  The  Rev.  E.  C.  Clemans,  D.D.,  Field  Representative  of 
the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  addressed  the  Convention 
on  "The  Claimants'  Greatest  Asset — Annual  Contributions 
by  the  Churches — The  Apportionment"  (see  page  421),  and 
the  afternoon  program  closed  with  a  paper  by  the  Rev. 
Isaac  H.  Lidstone,  D.D.,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Stewards 
of  the  East  Maine  Conference,  on  "The  Debt  of*  the  Nation 
to  the  Ministry."     (See  page  53.) 

Evening  Session — Tuesday 

The  Rev.  E.  M.  Mills,  D.D.,  Central  New  York  Conference, 
took  the  chair  at  the  evening  session,  and  the  Rev.  L.  Olin 
Sherburne,  D.D.,  Vermont  Conference,  conducted  the  devo- 
tions. 

Bishop  William  Eraser  McDowell,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President 
of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  addressed  the*  Con- 
vention on  "We  Shall  Win."     (See  page  329.) 

Mr.  J.  L.  Transue,  Williamson,  N.  Y.,  addressed  the 
Convention  on  "Approaching  a  Crisis."     (See  page  349.) 

The  Rev.  F.  T.  Keeney,  D.D.,  of  the  Central  New  York 
Conference,  delivered  an  address  on  "Paving  the  Last  Mile 
for  the  Itinerant."     (See  page  19.) 

Dr.  J.  B.  Hingeley  spoke  on  what  the  Conferences  generally 
were  doing,  and  the  session  adjourned  with  the  Benediction 
by  the  Rev.  James  S.  Montgomery,  D.D. 

Morning  Session — ^Wednesday,  October  28,  1914 
Bishop  Thomas  B.   Neely  presided,  and  the  Rev.  Hugh 
Johnston,  D.D.,  Baltimore  Conference,  conducted  the  devo- 
tional services.    The  Committee  on  Nominations  and  Con- 
vention Work  made  the  following  nominations : 

(1)  Committee  on  Forwarding  the  Business  of  the 
Convention:   The   Rev.   J.   B.   Hingeley,   D.D.,   Northern 


FORMAL  PROCEEDINGS  557 

Minnesota  Conference;  the  Rev.  E.  C.  E.  Dorion,  D.D.,  New 
Hampshire  Conference ;  and  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Van  Cleve,  D.U., 
Illinois  Conference.  (2)  Committee  on  Courtesies  :  The 
Rev.  Whitford  L.  McDowell,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  James  Shera 
Montgomery,  D.D,,  Baltimore  Conference:  the  Rev.  L.  0. 
Sherburne,  D.D.,  Vermont  Conference;  the  Rev.  C.  A. 
Kelley,  D.D.,  Rock  River  Conference;  and  Messrs.  W.  T. 
(lallier,  T.  F.  Layton  and  Gardnier  Johnson,  Washington, 
D.  C.  (3)  Committee  on  Literature  and  Registration: 
The  Rev.  E.  C.  Clemans,  D.D.,  Northern  Minnesota  Confer- 
ence; the  Rev.  L.  M.  Ferguson,  Baltimore  Conference;  and 
the  Rev.  G.  W.  Kepler,  D.D.,  West  Virginia  Conference. 
(4)  Committee  on  Resolutions:  The  Rev.  F.  T.  Keeney, 
D.D.,  Central  New  York  Conference;  the  Rev.  Frank  P. 
Parkin,  D.D.,  Philadelphia  Conference ;  the  Rev.  S.  J.  Green- 
field, D.D.,  Northern  New  York  Conference;  the  Rev.  Allan 
MacRossie,  D.D.,  New  York  Conference;  the  Rev.  E.  C.  E. 
Dorion,  D.D.,  New  Hampshire  Conference;  the  Rev.  J.  A. 
Sargent,  D.D.,  Indiana  Conference;  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Layton, 
D.D.,  New  York  East  Conference ;  the  Rev.  Horace  L.  Jacobs, 
D.D.,  Central  Pennsylvania  Conference;  the  Rev.  S.  A. 
Morse,  D.D.,  Genesee  Conference;  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Van  Cleve, 
D.D.,  Illinois  Conference;  and  the  Rev.  James  Hamilton, 
D.D.,  Michigan  Conference.  (5)  Committee  on  Financing 
the  Campaign:  Bishop  W.  F.  McDowell,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  the 
Rev.  W.  G.  Koons,  D.D.,  Wilmington  Conference;  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield  Baldwin,  Baltimore  Conference ;  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Rich, 
D.D.,  Erie  Conference;  the  Rev.  F.  T.  Keeney,  D.D.,  Central 
New  York  Conference;  the  Rev.  M.  E.  Evans,  D.D.,  North- 
East  Ohio  Conference;  Mr.  J.  L.  Transue,  Central  New 
York  Conference;  Mr.  John  Andrus,  New  York  Conference; 
the  Rev.  John  Krantz,  D.D.,  Newark  Conference;  and  the 
Rev.  J.  W.  Van  Cleve,  D.D.,  Illinois  Conference.  (6)  Com- 
mittee on  Expressing  to  the  Bishops  the  Thanks  op 
THE  Convention:  The  Rev.  F.  T.  Keeney,  D.D.,  Central  New 
York  Conference ;  the  Rev.  Joel  M.  Leonard,  D.D.,  New  Eng- 
land Conference;  the  Rev.  Robert  Stephens,  Illinois  Con- 
ference; the  Rev.  W.  A.  Layton,  D.D.,  New  York  East  Con- 
ference; the  Rev.  I.  H.  Lidstone,  D.D.,  East  Maine  Confer- 
ence; the  Rev.  W.  L.  McDowell,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  James 
S.  Montgomery,  D.D.,  Baltimore  Conference. 


558  THE  EETIEED  MINISTER 

'^Methodism's  Youngest  Institution — The  Board  of  Con- 
ference Claimants"  was  the  subject  of  an  address  by  the  Rev. 
James  Hamilton,  D.D.,  of  the  Michigan  Conference.  (See 
page  425.) 

The  Rev.  S.  J.  Greenfield,  D.D.,  Field  Secretary,  Preachers' 
Permanent  Fund  Comanission  of  the  Northern  New  York 
Conference,  delivered  an  address  on  "Annual  Conference  En- 
dowments." (See  page  415.)  An  address  on  "Cooperation 
Between  Annual  Conference  Organizations  and  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants"  was  given  by  the  Rev.  S.  A.  Morse, 
D.D.,  Secretary  of  the  Permanent  Fund  of  the  Genesee  Con- 
ference. (Page  369.)  The  Rev.  C.  W.  Miller,  A.M.,  of  the 
Pittsburgh  Conference,  could  not  be  present  owing  to  ill- 
health,  but  he  had  forwarded  his  paper  on  "Why  a  Service 
Pension?"  The  paper  was  read  by  the  Rev.  Horace  L. 
Jacobs,  D.D.,  of  the  Central  Pennsylvania  Conference,  and  a 
resolution  of  appreciation  of  the  address  was  unanimously 
adopted.     (See  page  67.) 

The  Committee  appointed  to  Express  the  Thanks  of 
THE  Convention  to  the  Bishops  presented  their  report 
which  was  unanimously  adopted  and  the  Committee  in- 
structed to  present  the  report  in  person  to  the  Bishops 
assembled  in  their  semiannual  meeting  in  Foundry  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Washington.     (See  page  315.) 

Introductions 

The  Rev.  John  R.  Stewart,  D.D.,  Agent  Superannuate 
Fund,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South;  the  Rev.  Alfred 
J.  P.  McClure,  D.D.,  Treasurer  and  Financial  Agent  of  the 
General  Clergy  Relief  Fund  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church;  the  Rev.  William  B.  Matteson,  D.D.,  Financial 
Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Ministers'  Home  Society;  and  the 
Rev.  S.  L.  Loomis,  D.D.,  member  of  the  Ministerial  Relief 
Committee  and  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ministerial 
Annuities  of  the  Congregational  Church,  were  introduced  and 
brought  the  greetings  of  their  respective  denominations. 

The  Rev.  E.  C.  E.  Dorion,  D.D.,  Member  of  the  Board  of 
Conference  Claimants  and  Associate  Editor  of  Zions  Herald, 
gave  an  address  on  "The  1915  Campaign — Cooperative, 
Intensive,  Extensive."     (See  page  383.) 

The  Rev.  W.  D.  Slease,  D.D.,  Agent  Centenary  Fund  So- 


FORMAL  PROCEEDINGS  559 

ciety  of  the  Pitteburgh  Conference,  on  "Leadership  of  Annual 
Conference  Agents."     (See  page  375.) 

The  Rev.  Frank  P.  Parkin,  J).D.,  District  Sui)ernitendent 
Central  District,  IMiiladelphia  Conference,  on  "Leadership  of 
District  Snperintcndciits."     (See  page  IHJT.) 

The  .Rev.  J.  B.  Hingeley,  D.D.,  Corresponding  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  delivered  an  address 
on  "The  Leadership  of  the  Board  of  (Conference  Claimants." 
(See  page  379.) 

Bishop  Thomas  B.  Neely 

Th;p,  discussion  was  closed  by  Bishop  Neely,  who  spoke  on 
"Cooperation  on  the  Part  of  the  Bishops."  (See  page  365.) 
The  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted : 
It  is  with  peculiar  pleasure  and  satisfaction  that  we  have 
had  for  the  presiding  officer  of  this  Wednesday  morning 
session  our  beloved  Bishop,  the  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Neely,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  whose  interest  in  the  purpose  of  this  Convention  and 
the  challenging  cause  of  Conference  Claimants  is  increasingly 
inspiring.  We  rejoice  in  his  presence  among  us,  and  in  his 
word  and  leadership.  Upon  him  we  entreat  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church  to  bestow  his  grace,  health,  increase  of  days 
and  strength  for  continued  service  and  widening  usefulness 
to  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord. 

Horace  L.  Jacobs,  Central  Pennsylvania  Conference. 
W.  F.  Conner,  Pittsburgh  Conference. 
Albert  H.  Rich,  Erie  Conference. 

Afternoon  Session — Wednesday 

Group  Meetings  were  on  the  program  and  they  were  held 
in  various  rooms  in  the  church.  Annual  Conference  Agents, 
Conference  Representatives,  District  Superintendents  and 
Board  members  met  with  the  Rev.  F.  T.  Keeney  presiding. 
The  members  of  the  Veterans  of  the  Cross  Fellowship,  Retired 
Ministers  and  other  claimants  met  with  the  Rev.  V.  A. 
Cooper,  D.D.,  New  England  Conference,  official  organizer  of 
the  Fellowship.     (See  resolutions,  page  561.) 

The  Rev.  Charles  W.  Baldwin,  D.D.,  Baltimore  Conference, 
presided  at  the  afternoon  meeting  of  the  Convention,  and 
the  Rev.  V.  A.  Cooper,  D.D.,  led  in  prayer.  "The  Campaign 
in  the  Swedish  Conferences"  was  the  subject  of  an  address 


560  THE  KETIRED  MINISTER 

by  the  Eev.  Herman  Young,  D.D.,  Eastern  Swedish  Confer- 
ence.    (See  page  359.) 

The  Eev.  William  H.  Dean,  D.D.,  of  the  Washington 
Conference  read  a  paper  on  "The  Campaign  Among  the 
Colored  Conferences.^'     (See  page  363.) 

The  Eev.  Stedman  Applegate,  D.D.,  of  the  New  Jer- 
sey Conference,  gave  an  address  on  "Old-Age,  Mothers,  and 
Government  Pensions.^'  (See  page  251.)  The  Eev.  E.  L.  Wat- 
son, D.D.,  Baltimore  Conference,  spoke  on  "Deferred  Pay- 
ments to  Veteran  Preachers.'*  He  greatly  interested  all  by 
showing  the  last  written  words  of  Bishop  Asbury,  written  two 
days  before  his  death.  (See  page  467.)  Two  historic 
Churches,  "John  Street,''  New  York  City,  and  "St.  George's," 
Philadelphia,  were  subjects  of  sketches  read  by  the  Rev.  J. 
Wesley  Johnston,  D.D.,  New  York  East  Conference,  and  the 
Eev.  Frank  P.  Parkin,  D.D.,  Philadelphia  Conference.  The 
sketch  of  St.  George's  Church  was  written  by  its  pastor,  the 
Eev.  J.  S.  Hughes,  D.D.,  Philadelphia  Conference,  but  owing 
to  sickness  he  was  unable  to  be  present.     (See  page  461.) 

Evening  Session — Wednesday 

Three  great  addresses  were  the  features  of  the  evening 
program.  The  Eev.  G.  W.  Kepler,  D.D.,  West  Virginia  Con- 
ference, presided,  and  the  Eev.  Charles  W.  Baldwin,  D.D., 
of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  led  in  prayer. 

The  Eev.  L.  J.  Birney,  D.D.,  New  England  Conference, 
Dean  of  the  Boston  University  School  of  Theology,  addressed 
the  Convention  on  "The  Eetiring  Competence  as  Eelated  to 
the  Call  to  Preach."     (See  page  31.) 

"Savings  vs.  Efficiency"  was  the  theme  of  an  address  by 
the  Eev.  J.  W.  Van  Cleve,  D.D.,  Illinois  Conference,  Vice- 
President  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.     (See  page  43.) 

Bishop  E.  J.  Cooke,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  introduced  and 
spoke  on  "The  Justice  of  the  Eetired  Preachers'  Claim  and 
Its  Eelation  to  the  Permanence  of  Organized  Eeligion."  (See 
page  111.) 

Morning  Session — Thursday,  October  29,  1914 

Bishop  Jos.  F.  Berry,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  presided  at  the  morn- 
ing session,  and  the  devotional  exercises  were  in  charge  of 
the  Rev.  L.  E.  Lennox,  D.D.,  Michigan  Conference. 


FORMAL  PROCEEDINGS  56l 

The  Rev.  Joel  M.  Leonard,  D.D.,  New  England  Conference, 
presented  the  following 

Resolutions  Adopted  by  Veteran  Preachers  in  Attend- 
ance ON  THE  Washington  Convention 

Whereas,  We,  the  Retired  Ministers  and  other  claimants, 
are  members  of  the  Washington  Convention  by  the  courteous 
invitation  of  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Hingeley,  D.D.,  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  and  thereby 
are  permitted  to  enjoy  its  privileges,  purposes  and  aims; 
therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  1.  That  we  heartily  thank  Dr.  Hingeley  for  the 
honor  conferred  and  the  opportunities  afforded  us,  and  for 
the  opportunity  of  learning  more  fully  about  the  Veterans 
of  the  Cross  Fellowship. 

Resolved,  2.  That  while  we  are  very  grateful  for  the  benev- 
olent contributions  which  we  have  received  in  the  past  by 
which  we  were  enabled  to  meet  in  part  the  daily  necessities 
of  life,  we  appreciate  beyond  the  power  of  expression  the  ac- 
tion of  the  General  Conference  of  1908  (See  Discipline, 
Tf  323)  that  we  are  no  longer  necessitous  cases  only,  but 
honored  Veterans  of  the  Church  and  just  claimants  worthy 
of  a  "comfortable  support."  Our  hearts  burn  within  us  as 
we  contemplate  the  good  hand  of  our  God  upon  us.  0,  that 
the  Church  might  know  the  gratitude  we  feel ! 

Resolved,  3.  That  expressing  as  we  believe  the  sentiments 
of  all  Retired  Ministers  and  other  claimants,  we  will  cooperate 
in  all  ways  we  can  to  make  successful  the  stupendous  move- 
ment of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  to  inaugurate  a 
Campaign  for  Five  Million  Dollars,  to  meet  the  request  of 
the  General  Conference  of  1912,  to  provide  sufficient  perma- 
nent funds,  to  pay  the  annuities  and  necessities  which  two 
General  Conferences  have  judged  us  worthy  to  receive. 

Papers  on  '^'What  the  Railroads  and  Corporations  are  Do- 
ing," were  presented.  A  paper  on  the  "Pension  System  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Lines,"  prepared  by  Mr.  John  W.  Renner,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Pension  Department,  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  was 
read  by  the  Rev.  C.  A.  Kelley,  D.D.,  of  the  Rock  River 
Conference.     (See  page  233.) 

A  paper  on  "Pensions  in  Industrial  Corporations"  pre- 
pared hy  Mr.  J.  0.  Pew,  President  and  General  Manager  of  the 


5G2  THE  KETTRED  MTNTSTEK 

YoungstoAvn    (Ohio)    Steel   Company,  was  presented.      (See 
page  2^1:1.) 

Bishop  Jos.  F.  Berry,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  addressed  the  Conven- 
tion, stating  that  the  Bishops  are  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the 
proposed  Campaign  in  hehalf  of  Conference  Claimants. 

What  Other  Chueches  Are  Doing 

"What  Other  Churches  Are  Doing"  was  considered  and 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  was  represented  by  the  Eev. 
Alfred  J.  P.  McClure,  D.D.,  Treasurer  and  Financial  Agent 
of  the  General  Clergy  Relief  Fund  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.       (See  page  151.) 

The  Baptist  Church  was  represented  by  the  Rev.  William 
B.  Matteson,  D.D.,  Financial  Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Min- 
isters^ Home  Society.     (See  page  195.) 

Rev.  William  II,  Foulkes,  D.D.,  Secretary  Ministerial  Re- 
lief and  Sustentation  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  spoke  of 
th^  plans  of  his  Church  for  the  care  of  Retired  Ministers. 
(See  page  165.) 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  was  represented 
by  the  Rev.  John  R.  Stewart,  D.D.,  Agent  Superannuate 
Fund,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.     (See  page  183.) 

Resolutions 

The  following  report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions 
was  presented  and  unanimously  adopted : 

The  Laymen 
In  view  of  the  widespread  interest  of  the  laymen  in  the 
"comfortable  support"  of  Conference  Claimants  and  the  suc- 
cess which  has  attended  their  efforts  in  the  Conferences  where 
laymen's  associations  have  been  promoted,  we  urge  that  all 
laymen's  associations  enlist  themselves  heartily  in  this  plan 
and  we  recommend  that  laymen's  associations  be  organized  in 
every  Conference  and  on  every  district  where  they  do  not 
already  exist,  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  1915  CAM- 
PAIGN for  Conference  Claimants  successful. 

Episcopal  Areas 

In  harmony  with  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  and 
the  unanimous  indorsement  of  the  Board  of  Bishops  at  their 


FORMAL  PEOCEEDINGS  563 

spring  meeting  to  set  apart  the  year  1915  for  the  Veterans, 
and  in  view  of  the  proposed  plan  of  organizing  the  Confer- 
ences in  each  Episcopal  Area,  and  of  uniting  them  for  cam- 
paign purposes,  we  urge  the  representatives  of  the  various 
Conferences  to  cooperate  with  their  Kesident  Bishop  and  with 
each  other  in  perfecting  their  organizations  at  the  earliest  pos- 
sible moment. 

Full  Apportionments 

Whereas,  The  enactment  of  the  rule  requiring  the  prorat- 
ing of  the  moneys  received  for  ministerial  support  evidenced 
the  will  of  the  Church  that  no  ministerial  claims  should  be 
favored  at  the  expense  of  any  other ;  and 

Whereas,  The  apportionment  by  Annual  Conferences 
of  less  than  the  full  amount  of  the  claims  of  Conference 
Claimants  tends  directly  to  defeat  the  purpose  of  this  rule ; 
therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  urge  upon  all  Annual  Conferences  and 
Conference  Boards  of  Stewards  the  apportionment  of  the  full 
amount  of  the  claim,  so  that,  if  all  the  apportionments  are  met 
in  full,  all  Retired  Ministers,  as  well  as  ministers  m  the 
effective  relation,  shall  receive  the  full  amount  of  their  claims. 

Campaign  Expenses 

Whereas,  A  large  expenditure  will  be  required  to  provide 
for  properly  leading  the  Church  in  the  1915  CAMPAIGN,  and 

Whereas,  The  Funds  specially  secured  for  the  general 
work  are  practically  exhausted  and  the  regular  income  of  the 
Board  is  necessarily  devoted  to  special  uses  and  cannot  be  used 
in  general  work,  and  the  moneys  which  can  be  applied  to  the 
general  expenses  of  the  Campaign  are  small,  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  endorse  the  action  of  the  Board  of  Con- 
ference Claimants  in  projecting  this  Convention  and  thus 
bringing  together  for  conference  and  mutual  inspiration  a 
number  of  the  men  who  have  the  responsibilities  of  the  can- 
vass ;  that  we  approve  of  the  expense  incurred  as  a  wise  and 
profitable  investment  of  money  for  the  cause  of  Conference 
Claimants,  and  that  we  further  endorse  the  plan  to  hold  a 
similar  Convention  in  the  city  of  Chicago  near  the  begninmg 
of  the  campaign  year ;  be  it  further. 

Resolved,  That  we  authorize  the  Correspondmg  Secretary 


564  THE  KETIRED  MINISTER 

of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  to  secure  by  such  means 
as  may  seem  to  him  wise  and  proper,  moneys  which  may  be 
used  to  defray  the  general  expenses  of  the  Campaign. 

Resolved,  That  tve  request  the  ministers  in  effective  rela- 
tion throughout  the  whole  Church  to  contribute  sums  of  from 
one  to  five  dollars  for  the  expense  of  the  general  campaign  in 
which  all  Conferences  are  to  share;  he  it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  authorize  the  Corresponding  Secretary 
to  state  the  situation  to  such  laymen  as  he  may  have  reason 
to  believe  will  be  disposed  to  help  in  financing  the  campaign 
and  secure  from  them  gifts  for  this  purpose. 

Common  Ministerial  Budget 

Whereas^  Much  difficulty  and  embarrassment  in  the  collec- 
tion and  prorating  of  moneys  for  ministerial  support  arise 
from  the  raising  of  money  for  Conference  Claimants  in  con- 
nection with  the  benevolences ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  urge  upon  district  superintendents, 
pastors  and  church  stewards  throughout  the  Church  to  raise 
the  money  for  Conference  Claimants  in  a  common  budget 
with  other  items  of  ministerial  support,  wherever  practicable, 
and  that  in  all  cases  it  be  raised  separately  from  the  benevo- 
lent collections. 

Invitation  to  the  Bishops 

During  the  earlier  part  of  the  session,  the  Rev.  J.  B. 
Hingeley,  D.D.,  visited  the  Bishops  in  their  semi-annual  meet- 
ing in  Foundry  Church  and  presented  to  them  an  invitation 
to  be  present  in  a  body  on  Thursday  evening.     (See  page  316.) 

The  Rev.  M.  E.  Snyder,  Ph.D.,  read  a  letter  from  the  secre- 
tary of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  which  he  stated 
that  the  President  had  read  with  great  appreciation  the  reso- 
lution adopted  by  the  Convention  at  its  Tuesday  session. 

Aftp:rnoon  Session — Thursday 

The  members  of  the  Convention  met  in  Episcopal  area 
groups  to  consider  matters  of  interest  concerning  Conference 
Claimants  as  related  to  the  Conferences  included  in  the  sev- 
eral areas.    These  groups  were  presided  over  as  follows: 

Washington  Area — Rev.  W.  L.  McDowell,  D.D.,  Baltimore 
Conference. 


FORMAL  PROCEEDINGS  565 

Boston  Area — Rev.  J.  M.  Leonard,  D.D.,  New  England 
Conference. 

New  York  Area — Rev.  Allan  MacRossie,  D.D.,  New  York 
Conference. 

Philadelpliia  Area — Rev.  W.  G.  Koons,  D.D.,  Wilmington 
Conference. 

Buffalo  Area— Rev.  S.  J.  Greenfield,  D.D.,  Northern  New 
York  Conference. 

After  the  meetings  of  the  Area  groups,  the  Rev.  S.  J. 
Greenfield,  D.D.,  Northern  New  York  Conference,  took  the 
chair,  and  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Miller,  D.D.,  Ohio  Conference,  led 
in  prayer. 

What  Other  Churches  Are  Doing 

The  discussion  of  the  general  subject,  "What  the  Other 
Churches  Are  Doing,"  was  resumed.  Presbyterian  Church  of 
the  United  States  (Southern  Presbyterian)  was  represented 
by  the  Rev.  Henry  H.  Sweets,  D.D.,  Secretary  of  Education 
and  Ministerial  Relief.     (See  page  175.) 

The  Rev.  S.  L.  Loomis,  D.D.,  member  of  the  Ministerial 
Relief  Committee  and  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Minis- 
terial Annuities  of  the  Congregational  Church,  spoke  on 
"What  the  Congregational  Churches  are  Doing  for  the  Relief 
of  the  Veteran  Preachers."     (See  page  207.) 

Mr.  Marvin  Campbell,  Member  of  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants,  had  prepared  a  paper  on  "The  Layman  and  the 
Claimants."  Owing  to  illness  in  his  family,  Mr.  Campbell 
could  not  be  present,  but  his  paper  was  presented  to  the  Con- 
vention.    (See  page  79.) 

Literature 

The  Committee  on  Literature  and  Registration  submitted 
the  following  report,  which  was  unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas,  Our  Genei-al  Secretary,  tlie  Rev.  Joseph  B. 
Hingeley,  has  created  and  put  in  circulation  a  splendid  liter- 
ature pertaining  to  the  work  of  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants,  which  covers  every  phase  of  the  work  for  better 
support  of  Retired  Ministers,  and 

Whereas,  This  literature  is  of  great  value  to  the  field 
secretaries,  agents  of  Conference  funds.  Boards  of  Stewards, 


oGG  THE  EETIKED  MIXTSTET? 

and  to  all  coiiroriicd  in  the  work  of  earing  for  Veteran  Preach- 
ers, and 

WiiKi.'KAS^  We  helievc  that  this  splendid  output  of  the  print- 
ing press  oiiglit  to  he  scattered  like  the  leaves  of  autumn 
among  our  ^lethodist  people;  therefore  he  it 

licsolved,  That  we  will  give  this  literature  the  widest  circu- 
lation. 

Resolved,  That  we  appreciate  the  fact  that  all  of  the  leaflets 
and  other  matter  tliat  can  be  used  by  the  various  Conferences 
are  to  be  so  arranged  that  they  can  be  used  for  local  circula- 
tion, by  leaving  space  where  may  be  printed  matter  suita])le 
for  local  needs  and  conditions  and  that  we  recommend  that 
the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  print  and  put  into  circu- 
lation such  literature  as  may  be  printed  and  circulated  by  the 
secretaries  of  Conference  organizations  which  may  be  suitable 
for  general  circulation. 

We  recommend  that  all  literature  pul)lished  by  the  Board 
of  Conference  Claimants  be  furnished  at  cost  to  Conference 
agents  of  permanent  funds  and  Preachers'  Aid  Societies. 

We  heartily  commend  the  purpose  of  the  General  Secretary 
to  arrange  the  Veteran  Preacher  so  that  each  Conference  may 
have  a  special  edition  with  several  pages  including  the  cover 
for  the  publishing  of  any  matter  that  may  be  desirable  for 
local  information. 

"The  Retired  Minister — His  Claim"' 

We  suggest  to  all  concerned  the  very  great  importance  of 
the  forthcoming  book,  The  Retired  Minister — His  Claim  In- 
herent, Foremost  and  Supreme,  in  which  the  proceedings  of 
this  Convention  will  be  published  and  the  papers  and  addresses 
of  the  Convention,  the  Address  and  Appeal  of  the  Bishops, 
the  addresses  of  the  Eepresentatives  of  other  Denominations, 
important  documents  and  literature  bearing  on  the  work  for 
better  support  for  Conference  Claimants,  will  furnish  material 
for  pastors  who  are  preparing  special  sermons  and  addresses 
and  will  inform  laymen  as  to  what  is  being  done  for  this 
great  cause.  A  copy  of  the  book  should  be  in  the  hands  of 
every  preacher  and  layman. 

G.  W.  ivEPLER^  L.  M.  Ferguso.n^,  Committee. 


FORMAL  PEOCEEDIXGS  567 

Courtesies 

The  Committee  on  Courtesies  presented  the  following  reso- 
lutions, which  were  unanimously  adopted : 

We  hereby  express  our  appreciation  of  the  many  courtesies 
which  have  contributed  so  much  to  make  this  Convention 
pleasant  and  profitable. 

Our  thanks  are  due  and  are  now  extended  to  the  proprietor 
of  the  National  Hotel,  Washington;  to  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railway  Company  for  its  consideration  in  travel;  to  the 
Metropolitan  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  its  pastor,  the  Rev. 
James  Shera  Montgomery,  D.D.,  and  his  people,  for  their 
unstinted  kindness  during  our  stay  as  their  guests;  to  our 
genial  and  efficient  Corresponding  Secretary,  the  Rev.  J.  B. 
Hingeley,  D.D.,  for  his  wise  and  untiring  labors  in  calling 
this  Convention  and  in  leading  it  to  gratifying  success; 
to  those  who  have  taken  part  in  the  program  for  their 
inspiring  and  helpful  addresses,  especially  to  those  who 
are  representatives  of  Denominations  other  than  our  own, 
namely,  the  Rev.  Alfred  J.  P.  McClure,  D.D.,  of  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church;  the  Rev.  AV.  B.  Matteson,  D.D.,  of  the 
Baptist  Church;  the  Rev.  William  H.  Foulkes,  D.D.,  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church;  the  Rev.  John  R.  Stewart,  D.D.,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South;  the  Rev,  Henry  S. 
Sweets,  D.D.,  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church;  and  the 
Rev.  S.  L.  Loomis,  D.D.,  of  the  Congregational  Church. 

We  also  desire  to  express  our  gratitude  to  the  Press  for 
their  kindness  in  giving  publicity  to  the  work  of  this  Conven- 
tion and  thus  helping  forward  our  great  cause. 

We  also  express  our  gratitude  to  the  District  Superintend- 
ent, the  Rev.  Whitford  L.  McDowell,  D.D.,  and  the  Local 
Committee  of  the  Washington  Preachers'  Meeting  for  their 
kindness  in  planning  so  wisely  for  the  comfort  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  to  the  secretaries  who  have  so  faithfully  served 
us. 

We  record  our  appreciation  of  the  presence  and  help  of  the 
Bishops  in  our  meetings,  many  of  whom  were  on  our  pro- 
gram and  gave  us  most  helpful  addresses. 

F.  T.  Keexey,  Chairman. 


The  Rev.  Allan  :\raeR()Ssie,  D.D.,  of  the  Xew  York  Con- 


568  THE  IIETIRED  MINISTER 

fercnce  gave  an  address  on  "The  Larger  Meaning  of  the  Pro- 
gram."    Dr.  J.  B.  Hingeley  spoke  parting  words  as  follows: 

Brothers,  I  would  not  attempt  to  hide  my  gratification  and 
delight  with  this  Convention.  The  thought  in  calling  it  was 
that  we  might  get  together  in  spirit  and  fact  throughout  the 
entire  Church;  and  that  we  might  receive  the  inspiration, 
which  has  already  come  to  us,  from  the  knowledge  of  what  the 
other  Churches  are  doing,  and  have  the  opportunity  of  adding 
new  inspiration  to  their  leaders. 

I  presume  that  if  we  were  beginning  matters  anew,  we 
might  not  have  quite  so  many  agencies,  but  there  is  one  beauty 
about  the  Methodist  machine,  that  while  there  may  be  compli- 
cations or  duplications  of  machinery,  somehow  or  other  the 
product  comes  out,  and  we  are  doing  business  efficiently  in 
many  different  ways,  with  a  common  result.  Occasionally 
brethren  say,  "There  ought  to  be  one  connectional  organiza- 
tion, and  all  these  funds  should  be  under  its  administrative 
control."  If  we  were  beginning  and  trying  to  project  a  new 
institution,  with  the  knowledge  we  now  have,  we  might  plan 
that  way;  but  we  are  adapting  plans  of  work  to  meet  varying 
conditions,  some  of  the  provisions  being  more  than  three- 
score and  ten  years  old,  while  one  has  passed  far  beyond  the 
century  mark.  No  one  is  inclined  to  interfere  with  anything 
that  is  being  done,  except  it  be  to  adjust  the  several  parts,  so 
that  there  may  be  consistency  in  the  outcome.  Sometimes 
I  almost  envy  our  brethren  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  who 
have  one  common  central  organization,  and  I  think  of  what  it 
must  be  to  be  at  the  head  of  an  organization  which  consoli- 
dates the  entire  movement ;  but  it  is  better  far  to  be  the  official 
head  of  a  great  organization  Avhich  is  closely  related  to  105 
Conference  organizations  with  complete  unity  of  heart  and 
purpose. 

Great  connectional  dividends  of  the  Book  Concern,  the 
Chartered  Fund  and  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  all 
have  their  places,  and  fall  into  the  general  plan  like  the 
orderly  movements  of  sections  of  a  great  army;  while  Annual 
Conference  funds,  and  contributions  from  the  pastoral 
charges  supplement  what  comes  from  the  outside.  The  dis- 
tribution to  Claimants  is  not  made  by  a  central  Board,  but 
by  iVnnual  Conferences,  which  know  all  the  conditions.    . 


A  SUMMARY  5G9 

I  have  been  delighted  with  the  reports  of  our  brothers  of 
other  churches.  The  problem  of  distribution  is  the  same  in 
every  church — to  provide  help  on  the  score  of  need,  and  to 
distribute  according  to  service,  apart  from  any  question  of 
need.  It  has  been  somewhat  difficult  to  get  rid  of  the  old 
fashioned  methods.  The  questions  used  in  Annual  Confer- 
ences wlien  we  began  the  work  would  almost  paralyze  the  will- 
ingness of  an  intelligent,  self-respecting  Preacher  to  receive 
the  money.  But  to-day  there  are  simply  two  questions  in 
order  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as  far  as  my  annu- 
ity right  is  concerned :  "What  is  your  name  ?  How  long  have 
you  been  in  the  effective  ministry?"  Anything  more  is  an 
impertinence.  It  is  nobody's  business  how  poor  I  am.  By 
the  laws  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  my  claim  is  de- 
termined on  the  basis  of  my  years  of  service,  and  that  is 
recorded.  Methodism  is,  first  of  all,  paying  its  del)ts,  and 
then,  when  necessary,  giving  gifts.  My  butcher  does  not  want 
me  to  say,  "I  owe  you  twenty  dollars.  I  will  yay  you  ten 
dollars,  but  as  you  are  a  good  fellow,  and  your  family  is  grow- 
ing up  and  you  have  had  sickness,  I  will  give  you  ten  dollars.'' 
He  would  tell  me,  "I'm  not  a  beggar.  Keep  your  gift  for 
paupers  and  paij  me  what  ijou  owe  mef  The  1915  CAM- 
PAIGN" is  to  make  it  possible  for  every  Conference  to  pay  its 
Eetired  Ministers  w^hat  the  law  allows,  and  then  to  give  what- 
ever else  may  be  needed. 

I  was  very  much  interested  to  find  a  letter  from  an  Ojibway 
Indian  Preacher,  breathing  his  prayer  that  God's  blessing 
might  be  upon  the  Convention.  Eight  years  ago,  in  the 
wilderness  of  Northern  Minnesota,  an  Ojibway  medicine  man, 
Tay-Bay-Wain-Dung,  adopted  me  as  his  son,  and  gave  to 
me  the  beautiful  name  of  "Kee-Tche-Me-Wah-Nah-Nah- 
Quod."  I  never  knew  why,  until  that  fall  when  I  visited 
the  Gulf  Conference,  and  an  old  Preacher  with  shining  face 
and  glistening  eye  said,  "You  are  the  fellow  that  is  making  the 
old  fellows  happy !"  Then  I  knew.  For  "Kee-Tche-Me-Wah- 
Nah-Nah-Quod"  means,  "A  Big  Cloud  Full  of  Blessing."  It 
is  a  delight  when  the  glistening  eyes  of  the  Veterans  take  on 
new  luster  as  they  speak  my  name ;  not  because  of  myself  but 
because  they  recognize  me  as  the  representative  of  every  one 
who  loves  the  old  Preacher. 

The  meaning  of  the   1915   CAMPAIGN  cannot  be  fully 


570  TITP]  RETIRED  MINISTER 

interpreted  by  the  benefits  which  will  come  to  the  Retired 
Preachers,  the  widows  and  orphans.  Its  fulfillment  means 
a  ''dependable  Annuity  or  pension"  for  all  the  future,  so  that 
as  the  young  Minister  takes  his  ordination  vows,  he  shall 
know  that  back  of  the  promises  made  to  him  of  a  comfort- 
able support  there  are  invested  sufficient  funds  to  make  the 
promise  good.  The  income  will  not  be  his  during  his  active 
ministerial  life,  but  some  day  when  he  shall  have  fulfilled 
those  vows,  it  will  be  his  as  long  as  he  lives;  and  he  will  have 
the  added  joy  of  knowing  that  until  he  needs  it  others,  his 
brethren,  will  be  benefited  by  it,  and  that  when  his  time  passes 
others  perpetually  will  enjoy  its  blessings. 

As  we  have  listened  to  the  addresses  on  the  influence  of  this 
movement  on  ministerial  efficiency,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the 
young  Minister  will  take  his  vows  with  greater  confidence, 
freedom  and  consecration,  knowing  that  adequate  provision 
has  been  made  for  his  old  age.  For  that  is  what  this  proposi- 
tion means.  It  will  mean  a  thousandfold  more  to  the  men  in 
the  strength  of  their  ministerial  manhood  than  to  the  old 
Preachers.  I  thank  God  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
is  recognizing  more  completely  than  ever  before  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  laity  to  support  the  Minister,  effective  and  retired, 
just  as  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Preacher  to  minister  in  God's 
name,  and  I  am  glad  to  hear  the  statement  repeated  from  the 
lips  of  the  brethren  of  our  sister  churches  who  have  spoken 
to-day.  Let  us  not  get  away  from  that  fact.  We  are  not  a 
company  of  Ministers  seeking  to  help  the  brotherhood  of 
Methodist  Ministers  to  a  comfortable  support;  we  are  a 
company  of  chosen  leaders  in  the  Church  of  God  who  are 
trying  to  help  and  inspire  godly  laymen  to  fulfill  their  duty 
of  furnishing  a  sufficient  support  of  the  entire  Ministry. 

We  need  to  understand  that  victory  is  not  by  might,  nor 
by  numbers,  but  ''hij  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord." 

The  Rev.  James  Hamilton,  D.D.,  of  the  Michigan  Con- 
ference, led  in  prayer,  and  after  the  benediction  by  the  Rev. 
J.  B.  Hingeley,  D.D.,  the  first  National  (Convention  in  behalf 
of  Retired  Ministers  adjourned  without  date. 

Camden,  N.  J.  M.  E.  8nydkr,  Secretanj. 


CHOOSING  THE  BETTER  PART  571 

CHOOSING  THE  BETTER  PART 
The  folloioing  ivas  a  Favorite  Poem  of  the  late  Dr.  Robert  Forbes. 

They  came  through  the  meadows  of  Childhood  together,  hand  in 

hand, 
And  often  they  talked  of  the   future   that  waited   in  Manhood's 

land: 
And  one  saw  ever  the  glory  that  crowns  the  peaks  of  fame 
In  that  strange  and  mystical  country  to  which  no  man  giveth  a 

name. 
"Up  to  the  heights  whose  beauty  lures  me  by  night  and  by  day 
I  will  sometimes  find,  my  Comrade,  with  kindred  souls,  the  way." 
And  because  his  eyes  turned  ever  to  the  heights,  he  could  not  see 
The  beauty  that  was  about  him.    Blind  to  it  all  was  he! 

But  the  other  saw  all  the  flowers  that  grew  by  the  paths  they  trod, 
He  read  on  the  hills  and  meadows  the  wordless  poems  of  God; 
He  saw  the  sin  and  sorrow  that  was  round  him  everywhere; 
But  he  spoke  kind  words  to  a  comrade  and  lightened  his  load  of 

care, 
"Here's  work  for  my  hands,  my  Brother,  I  find  it  on  every  side. 
It  may  not  be  grand  like  a  hero's,  but  I  shall  be  satisfied 
If  in  the  lives  of  others  I  bring  some  hope  and  some  cheer. 
And  feel  that  the  world  is  better  because  of  my  being  here." 

The  ways  that  their  feet  had  followed,  parted  in  Manhood's  land; 

And  he  whose  eyes  saw  only  the  peaks  far  off  and  grand. 

Strove  steadily  onward  toward  them  and  paused  not  once  by  the 

way 
To  help  and  comfort  a  comrade  as  sometimes  the  weakest  may. 
He  clambered  up  the  hills  and  over  their  summit  passed  from 

sight. 
And    to-day    he  lives    in    the    glory    that    crowns    those    mystic 

heights. 
But  no  man's  heart  thrills  warmly  when  another  speaks  his  name. 
Ah!  that  soul  hath  need  of  pity  that  feeds  on  the  husks  of  fame. 

But  he  who  saw  all  about  him  work  for  his  willing  hands. 

Has  done  it  faithfully,  nobly,  as  by  a  King's  commands. 

He   helped   the  weak   and   the   weary,   he   comforted   those   who 

mourn. 
And  no  man  knoweth  the  number  of  burdens  he  has  borne. 
He  sang  when  his  heart  was  heavy,  songs  full  of  hope  and  cheer; 
And  his  songs  brought  comfort  and  courage,  and  all  were  glad 

to  hear, 
And  men  and  women  and  children  speak  lovingly  his  name: 
Ah!  happy  is  he  that  findeth  that  Love  is  better  than  fame. 


The  Veteran's  Gamp  Fire. 

'The  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.    There  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown. 


J.  B.  HiNQBLET. 


Pli^^ii^ 


— « — #         Lg — ^: 


i: 


-^-^^ 


^    V 


1.  I   am  wait -ing  to-night  for  tiie  Lord  to    come       To   take  His  chil  -  dren  home, — 
2.1  have  fought    the  fight,  and  have  kept  the  faith,      And  stood  fast  in     the  ranks; 
3.  I  am    bear -ing  to-night  the  cross  of    my  Lord,      But  soon  I'll  wear  that  crown 


p  p  I   V  V  \   b  1/  I  1  r 

J .J ^-. — r. 


Si 


t: 


3= 


i=:^ 


5T 


t=rj 


r 


To  hoist  the  sail  and  say  fare  -  well.  And  seek  my  Fa  -  ther's  throne. 
The  hosts  of  sin  have  felt  my  sword,  Yea,  to  the  Lord  be  thanks. 
The  Eight  -  eous  Judge  will    sure    -  ly     give     To     those      He   calls  "His  own." 


*»j 


b  I    r^ I    bib  I 


u 


Chorus. 


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a~  J    3_«p^: 


Veterans   of  the  cross,  wait-ing  to  -  night,    Wait-ing  for  the  Lord  to    come; 


P     b 


b     L/     U 


m=^-i^i 


— 4^-J- 


I         b 
Refrain. 


Veterans  of  the  cross, 


list'ning  to-night,  To  hear  the  call  "Come  home."  Waiting  to-night, 

Last  v.— Resting  to-night. 


^    V  y—Yv  I  U    I      L    I 


i  s=s= 


pray-ing  to  -  night,   rest-ing   till  the  Lord  shall  come, 
pray-ing  to-night,  i^Omii.) 


wait-ing  for  the  Lord's"  Well  Done." 


l^ftr^np: 


Facing  the  Sunset, 


E.  E.  Hewitt 


Chas.  H.  Gabriel. 


1.  Min  -  is  -ters  of     Je  -  sus,  look-ing  t'ward  the  westi 

2.  Looking  t'ward  the  sun-set,    life    will  sweet-er     be, 

3.  Wido\Ys,  too,  and  or  -  pbans,  we  will  not    for  -  get; 


Ye    who  love  the  Mas-ter, 

If    God's  loy-al   peo  -  yle 

Hast  -en,  Christians,  hast-en, 


— T-fN r-m 


:p^P 


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t 


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com-fort  give,  and   rest;        With  your  lov  -  ing  of-f 'rings,  years   of    toil   re  -  pay; 
yield  glad  min  -  is  -  try;  With   a  will  -  ing  spir  -  it,    all   their  needs  sup  -  ply; 

pay    the  se  -  cred    debtl      Naught  that  we  can  ren  -  der    can   our  hand  with  -  hold 

J    .     f  -    -^   -*-    -^    -<^ 


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4: 


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P=¥-- 


Piif3=i^ii=£igf« 


Chorus. 

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tLf- 


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As     they  face    the  sun  -  set,  glad  -  den  now  their    way. 
They  have  oft  -  en  brought  us  bless  -  ings  from  the     sky. 
From  God's  faith-ful  serv  -  ants,  sil  -  ver  haired  and   old. 


Fac  -  ing    the   sun  -  set. 


«: 


N=N 


1       k 


heirs  of  glo  -  ry,  they;    Wait-ing  the  dawn-ing  of     a     bet  -  ter 


day;      Care  for  their 


ii=S 


-#^-?^ 


^— ^ 


^Ss- 


M 


wel-  fare,  time  -  ly   aid     af  -  ford, 


'^m 


A  A      AAA 

A=N=^ 


Ere    they     pass      to    their  re  -  ward. 


Copyright.  1909,  by  Chas.  H.  Gabriel. 


f 


fg^l 


I     I 


The  Aged  Minister's  Prayer. 


"Cast  me  not  off  in  the  time  of  old  age;  forsake  me  not  when  my  strength  faileth Now  also  when  I  am 

old  and  gray-headed,  0  God,  forsake  me  not."— Ps.  71:  9,  18.  Tune,  Bera. 


^m^s^^^m 


:&= 


'- r 


I     r 

I        am    old,    The  day-light  wanes,  my  work     is  done; 

I        am    old,    When  youthful  vig-  or  is        no  more; 

thou  art    old?    Thy    Fa-ther  hears  thy  trust -ful  pray'r, 


1.  For-sake  me  not  when 

2.  Forsake  me  not  when 

3.  For-sake  thee  not  when 

4.  For-sake  thee  not  when    thou  art    old?   We    hear  the    call;    the   church-es 


m 


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F — pg — fp—^-~p—\p — ^—\-f—^p — 


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P=t=t: 


t=t=: 


m 


h\2z: 


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My  feet  draw  near  the  streets  of  gold; 
When  in  the  twi  -  light  grey  and  cold, 
His  arms  of  love  shall  thee  en  -  fold; 
The  heart  tbat  won   us      to       the    fold 


v^W  -#-    -^    -^5^  -r^-  -^  -sr 

I    wait  the     set  -  ting  of      [  the    sun. 

I      sit    and    wait  the  sum  -  mons  o'er. 

His  hand  thy    ta  -  ble  shall   pre  -  pare. 

Our  grate-ful  love  shall  ne'er    for  -  sake. 


J3i 


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is 


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The  leader  or  choir  may  sing'the  first  two  stanzas,  and  all  the  people  the  last  two. 


^ 


:g: 


Scatter  the  Flowers  Now, 


Mrs.  C.  D.  MlBTill. 


(To  God's  Men.) 


b»ft_4 — -11^ 


W^ 


-r=^^ir=rn 


^^^- 


W.  Stilluar  Martir. 

^-^^^ — i- 


M^^^.^ 


'f-f-- — t 

1/    I  1/ 

1.  Scat- terflow'rswher-e'er   yon  go,      This    is   your    ev  - 'ry    day    du   •  ty; 

2.  Say     the  good  thmg  while  they  live,    Friends  all    a-round  you    need  lift  -  ing; 

3.  Show  your  love    by    word   and  deed,    God  wants  each  heart  filled  with  glad  -  ness 
*-     *-    ^       ^  _     J^    *-    *-    *- 


DC — i=s±=it=^ 


t — p— r 


:t=P 


V=P-- 


:p=f: 


t&=f: 


S 


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t: 


Sf 


m^^^^^. 


f 


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Life  is  Bad  e  -  nougb  we  know,  Help  fill  the  world  with  love's  bean  -  ty. 
Hast .  en  now  your  kind  -  ness  give.  Save  some  dear  soul  now  from  drift  -  ing. 
For  each  flow  -  er  there    is  need.     Here  there  is    no  room  for   sad  -  ness. 


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Copyright,  1910<  by  the  Board  of  Cooforence  Claimants.  ChfcaffO. 


THE  SUN  IS  RISING,  LET  US  GO 

At  end  of  Love,  at  end  of  Life, 
At  end  of  Hope,  at  end  of  Strife, 
At  end  of  all  we  cling  to  so. 
The  Sim  is  setting.    Must  we  go? 

At  dawn  of  Love,  at  dawn  of  Life, 
At  dawn  of  Peace  that  follows  Strife, 
At  dawn  of  all  we  long  for  so. 
The  sun  is  rising.   Let  us  go. 


FINIS 


INDEX 


Abingdon  Press,  1,  6 
Accrued  Liabilities,  160 
Adams,  B.  F.,  328,  390 

C.  M.,  412 

J.  W.,  142 
Address  and  Appeal,  Bisho})s',  5, 

317 
Advantages  of  Age,  125 
Advocates.     (See  under  each  title) 
Age.     (See  Old  Age) 
Aged  Ministers,  543 

Prayer,  575 

Printers,  240 
Agencies,  409,  429 
Agents,   Annual  Conference,    184, 
558,  559 

Publishing,  408 
Agnew,  Dr.,  151,  485 
Alabaster  Boxes,  497 
Alden,  John,  116,  402 
Ammunition  Wagon,  563 
Anderson,  James,  291 

Bishop,  295 

Justice,  333,  555 
Andrus,  J.  E.,  328 
Annual   Conference  Agents,    184, 
558,  559 

Annuity  Distribution,  472 

Endowments,  568 

Organizations,  558 

Responsibilities,  79 
Annuity  Bond,  Life,  277 
Annuity,  Dependable,  343,  570 
Annuity    Fund,     Congregational, 
205,  210,  212 

Presbyterian,  174 

Protestant  Episcopal,  158 


Annuity,  Service,  80,  81 
Applegate,    Stedman,    251,    290, 

420,  560 
Apphcation  Blank,  Annuitv  Bond, 

278 
Apportionments,  421,  556 

Full,  563 
Arab  Priest,  Aged,  418 
Area  Meetings,  344 
Armfield,  W.  E.,  289 
Armour  &  Co.,  240,  242 
Asbmy,  Bishop,  437,  446-448,  560 

Death,  Anniversary  of,  468 

Last  Writing,  468 
Ashmore,  William,  488 
Atlanta  Constitution,  182 
Atmosphere,  The  New,  344 
Automatic  Pensions,  156 

B 

Bachman,  J.  W.,  493 

Baldwin,  C.  W.,  328,  555,  559,  562 

Summerfield,  557 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  R.  R.,  238,  567 
Baltimore  Methodist,  548 
Bank  Pensions,  245 
Banker's  Investment,  279 
Baptist  Church,  6,  195,  197,  558, 
562 

German,  198,  221 

Homes,  562 
Barnes,  A.  V.,  138 
Bartol,  Dr.,  127 
Barzillai,  499 
Bashford,  Bishop,  306 
Bass,  A.  C,  290,  454 
Batchelor,  A.  D.,  500 
Bauchop,  F.  E.,  292,  454 


577 


.78 


INDEX 


Beans,  W.  K.,  292,  454 
Being  Honest,  321 
Belh  of  Louvain,  18 
Benefits  of  Old  Age,  26,  139,  222 
Bennett,  H.  C,  547 
Bequests,  84,  188 
B(Try,  Bishop,  306,  320,  325,  560, 
562 

W.  F.,  57 
Best,  E.  S.,  181 
Better  Part,  The,  571 
Biglow  &  Main,  29 
Bilbie,  H.  G.,  476 
Birney,  L.  J.,  31,  348,  562 
Bishops,  295,  323 
Bishops'  Address  and  Api)eal,   5, 
296,  315,  319 

as  Leaders,  318,  323 

at  Germantown,  342 

at  Washington,  564 

Invitation  to,  564 

Pledges,  323 

Residential  Areas,  562 

Thanks  to,  557 
Bissell,  J.  W.,  292,  454 
Blake,  Edgar,  399 
Blind  Girl,  The,  550. 
Board   of   Conference   Claimants, 

120,  328,  341,  473,  558 
Bonds,  Life  Annuity,  509 
Book  Concern,  298,  442,  452,  556 
Booster,  A,  547 
Borland,  R.  S.,  290,  454 
Boswell,  C.  M.,  398 
Bovard,  F.  D.,  398 

W.  S.,  401 
Bowles,  S.  M.,  289 
Bristol,  Bishop,  310 
British  Government,  170 

Weekly,  446 
Bronson,  E.  H.,  476 


Brown,  C.  C,  515 

G.  W.,  328 
Bruere,  Martha  B.,  47 
Brummitt,  Dan  B.,  390,  395 
Bucher,  A.  J.,  393 
Buckley,  J.  M.,  390,  426 
Budget,  564 

Building  Good  Foundations,  321 
Burt,  Bishop,  295,  307 
Business  Pensions,  147 
Butte  Miner,  500 


Cain,  J.  W.,  291 
California  Advocate,  395 
Calkins,  H.  R.,  445 
Call  to  Preach,  31,  560 
Camp  Fire,  Veterans',  572 
Campaign,  1915,  293 

Action  of  Board,  341 

Climax,  348 

Cooperative,  360,  385,  558 

Extensive,  387 

History,  339 

Illustrated,  503 

Inherent,  345 

Intensive,  383 

Leadership,  375 

Literature,  372 

Program,  379 

Supreme,  293 
Campbell,  Marvin,  6,  79,  324,  424, 

427,  563,  565 
Canada,  81,  418 
Canham,  W.,  290 
Carnegie    Foundation,    246,    475, 

485 
Cartwright,  Peter,  438 
Cash  Promises,  346 
Central  Advocate,  39o 
Central  New  York  Conferc^nce,  438 


IXDEX 


679 


Chambers,  L.  M.,  555 
Chaplains,  66 
Charity,  5,  85,  111,  150 
Chartered  Fund,  298,  413,  556 
Chicago  and  Northwestern  R.  R., 

239 
Chicago  News,  260 
Childhood  and  Age,  139 
Children's  Pensions,  139 
C'hrist  Conquering,  325 
(nn-istian  Advocate,  138,  275,  389 
Christliche  Apologete,  392 
(1n-istmas  Fund,  170,  21G 
(Christian  Guardian,  The,  536 
Chronicle,  Halifax,  489 
Churches.     (See  under  the  several 

titles) 
Church 

Established,  334 

First    Methodist,    in    America, 

459 
Honor,  329-332 
John  Street,  455 
Obligation,  85 
Pension  Fund,  161 
Program,  213,  225 
Saint  George's,  461 
Strong,  A,  537 
Circuit  Rider,  4,  143,  533 
City,  The,  36 
Civil  War,  331 
Claim 

Foremost,  5,  147,  149,  231 

Inherent,  15,  348 

Supreme,    293,    299,    337,    348, 

435,  447 
Total,  118,  224 
Claimants.     (See  Conference 

Claimants) 
Claire,  Peter,  290 
Clemans,  E.  C,  324,  536,  557 


Clergy  Relief,  558,  562 
Collins,  H.  A.,  279,  505 

John,  289,  424 
Colored  Conferences,  560 
Congregational    Church,    6,    205, 

206,  558,  565 
Connectional    Permanent    Fund, 

121 
Conner,  W.  F.,  559 
Conquering  Campaign,  325 
Constitution,  Atlanta,  182 
Continent,  The,  6,  103 
Continuing  Liability,  160 
Contributions    from    Pastoral 

Charge-,  186,421,  556 
Convention,  563 
Converse,  T.  E.,  490 
Cooke,  Bishop,  111,  295,  560 
Cooper,  Ezekie!,  451,  556 

V.  A.,  122,  290,  403,  429,  559 
Cooperative  Campaign,  367,  558, 

559 
Corporation  Pensions,  241 
Courtesy,  557,  567 
Couldn't  Be  Done,  332 
Cragan,  J.  A.,  292 
Cranston,  Bishop,  295,  305,  318, 

321,  343,  553 
Crisis,  Meeting  a,  556 
Crowned  Veterans,  194 
Crosby,  Fanny,  29 
Crowned  Veterans,  194 
Curtis,  George  William,  330 

D 
Day,  J.  R.,  426 
Dean,  W.  H.,  363,  560 
Debt  of  Nation  to  Ministry,  53, 

556 
Decker,  E.  L.,  554 
Deferred  Payments,  467 


580 


JXDEX 


Doficioneios,  24,  76 
Dcmas,  32 
Denny,  Bishop,  193 
Denominational  Movements,  325 
Dependable  Pension,  79,  565,  570 
Dickins,  John,  451,  556 
Disability  Pensions,  200,  219 
Disallowances,  45 
Disciples  of  Christ,  213 
Distribution,  Methods  of,  472 
District  Superintendents,  367,  3S1 
Dividend 

Board  of  Conference  Claimants, 
120 

Book  Concern,  120,  442 

Chartered  Fund,  120 
Dolliver,  Senator,  546 
Dorion,  E.  C.  E.,  328,  383,  387, 

555,  557 
Downey,  D.  G.,  390,  396 
DuBois,  M.  J.,  270 
Durbin,  Governor,  546 
Dutch  Reformed  Church,  6,  219 


Early  Retirement,  73,  108 
Eckman,  G.  P.,  389,  390 
Economic  Condition  of  Ministry, 

206 
Editors,  59,  389,  390 
Education,  109 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  58 
Efficiency,  Ministerial,  39,  49,  348, 

560 
Ein  Wohlverdienter  Lohn  (A  Well 

Earned  Reward),  355 
Embury,  Bishop,  455 
Endowments,   83,    185,    192,   415, 

558 
England,  334 
Enyeart,  T.  J.,  290 


]^:piscopal  Address,  229,  301,  302, 
329 

Episcopal  Areas,  559,  562,  564 

Episcopal  Church.  (See  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church) 

Episcopal  Leadership,  318 

Epworth  Herald,  395 

Equity,  560 

Evans,  M.  E.,  291 

Exi)enses,  563 


Faces  of  Veterans,  194 

Facing  the  Sunset,  181,  574 

Fact,  Story,  and  Song,  572 

Fairbanks,  Vice-President,  545 

Families,  Ministers',  61 

Family  Affair,  A,  388,  396 

Fellowship,  Veterans  of  the  Cro  s, 
429,  434 

Ferguson,  J.  A.,  291 
L.  M.,  557 

Financial    Statement,     Compara- 
tive, 217 

Financing  Campaign,  557 

First  National  Bank,  Chicago,  244 

Fitzgerald,  Bishop  O.  P.,  191 

Flowers,  124 

Forbes,  Robert,  576 

Ford,  Mr.,  198 

Foremost  Claim,  5,  147,  149 

Foreword,  5 

Forgotten  Man,  The,  539 

Forms— Wills,  266 

Life  Annuity  Bonds,  277,  278 

Foulkes,  W.  H.,  6,  165,  259,  501, 
562,  567 

Foundations,  53,  321 

France,  114 

Frazer,  W.  H.,  494 


INDEX 


581 


Frugality,  44 
Fulton,  Dr.,  481 


Gabriel,  C.  H.,  574 
General.  Clergy  Relief,  154,  562 
General  Conference,  5,  87,  340 
Genesee  Conference,  425 
George's,  Saint,  560 
German  Baptists,  198,  221 

Conferences,  35',  353 

State  Church,  532 
Germantown  Meeting,  342 
Getting  and.  Spending,  275 
Gibson,  J.  B.,  454 
Gilbert,  Levi,  390,  392 
Giles,  Charles,  438 
Gist  of  It,  The,  224 
Give  Them  Flowers  Now,  124 
Giving,  Proportionate,  79 
God  Is  My  Refuge,  302 
Golden  Rule,  333 
Goldsmith,  102 

Government    Pensioner,    A,    251, 
466 

Pensions,  260 
Graham,  E.  R.,  389,  408 
Grand  Ai-my  of  the  Church,  546 
Gratitude,  86,  347 
Green,  J.  B.,  420 

T.  R.,  291,  424 
Greenfield,   S.   J.,   291,   415,   420, 

424,  526,  557,  558 
Greetings 

Bishops,  315 

Convention,  555 

Metropolitan  Church,  555 

Other  Churches,  558 

President  Wilson,  317,  318,  555 
Group  Meetings,  342,  559 
Growing  Old,  125,  138 


Guardian,  Christian,  536 
Guth,  George,  289 

H 

Habit,  Pension,  250 
Half  Pay,  297 
Halifax  Chronicle,  489 
HaU,  W.  A.,  292 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  427 

Bishop,  295,  306 

James,  328,  425.  557,  558,  570 
Hand,  Vanished,  218 

Veteran's,  218 
Happy  Man,  The,  505 
Hard  Luck  Stories,  345 
Hardships,  111 
Hardy,  Alpheus,  541 
Harland,  Marion,  103 
Harper's  Weekly,  330 
Harris,  Corra,  143 
Harrup,  F.  W.,  290 
Hart,  B.  H.,  289 
Hartung,  George,  291,  454 
HartweU,  C.  S.,  247 
Hartzell,  Bishop,  295 
Haus  und  Herd,  393 
Hebrew  Economy,  149,  171 
Heck,  Barbara,  456 
Hedding,  Bishop,  438 
Henderson,  Bishop,  295,  310 
Henke,  E.  W.,  291 
Henson,  P.  S.,  545 
Hero  Fund,  406 
Hewitt,  Miss  E.  E.,  497,  574 
Higgins,  D.  J.,  134 
Hingeley,  Ezra,  3 

J.  B.,  117,  225,  319,  324,  329, 
341,  379,  400,  555,  557,  553, 
561,  564,  565,  568,  570 
Hints,  Homiletic,  479 
History,  Campaign,  339 


582 


INDEX 


Hitchcock,  Elwin,  290,  413,  476, 

556 
Holland,  J.  G.,  37 

J.  P.,  339 

Pensions,  260 
Holmes,  O.  W.,  125,  274 
Homes,  Ministers',  153,  196,  223, 

562 
Homiletic  Hints,  479 
Honor,  85 

Hopkins,  G.  F.,  291,  424 
Horses  Pensioned,  164,  275 
Horton,  Judge,  6,  263,  324,  428 
Hoss,  Bi  hop,  192 
Hough,  T.  C.,  526 
Howell,  D.  W.,  401,  530 
Hughes,  Bishop,  295,  309 

J.  S.,  291,  461,  465,  476,  560 

R.  H.,  390,  394 

W.  H.,  292,  476 
Humphrey,  U.  G.,  292,  420,  555 
''Hymnal  Fund,"  154 

I 

Illinois,  Pensions,  256 
Illustrations,  List  of,  590 
Inauguration    Convention.      (See 

Washington  Convention) 
Indian  Summer,  193,  548 
Indiana  Methodists,  82 

Pensions,  561 
Indianapolis  Convention,  5,  299 
Industrial  Pensions,  240 
Influence  made  Immortal,  262 
Inherent  Clauns,  5,  348,  396 
Invitation  to  Bishops,  564 
Ituierancy,  73,  111 


Jacobs,  H.  L.,  476,  554,  557-559 
James,  J.  H.,  66 


Jennings,  H.  C,  388,  408 
Jewish  Rabbis,  223 
Johns,  Thomas,  290 
Johnston,  Hugh,  289,  556 

J.  W.,  455,  560 
John  Street  Church,  455,  560 
Jones,  R.  E.,  394 
Joy,  J.  R.,  390 
Jubilee  Gifts,  297,  323 
Justice,  85,  111,  189,  347,  429,  560 

K 
Kee  -  Tche  -  Me  -Wah  -  Nah-Nah- 

Quod,  569 
Keeney,  F.  T.,  19,  344,  435,  437, 

555-557,  559 
Kelley,  C.  A.,  291,  346,  390,  420, 

557,  561 
W.  v.,  389,  390 
Kendrick,  J.  C,  290,  424 
Ken,  Bishop,  78 
Kepler,  G.  W.,  292,  420,  557,  560, 

566 
Key-men,  The,  367 
King,  C.  A.,  290 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  528 
Koons,  W.  G.,  292,  454 
Kortright  Legacy,  69 
Krantz,  John,  451,  453,  556 

L 

Larger  Meaning,  The,  568 
Larimore,  T.  B.,  540 
Larkin,  F.  M.,  390,  395 
Last  Mile,  19,  556 
Lathrop,  E.  R.,  66,  470 
Laymen,  5,  79,  345,  562 
Convention,  293,  299 
Lay  ton,  W.  A.,  557 
Leadership,  318,  323,  559 
Lee,  Jesse,  447 
Leete,  Bishop,  295,  312 
Left  All,  He,  551 


INDEX 


583 


Legal  Titles,  289-292 
Lemcke,  Heniy,  289 
Lennox,  L.  E.,  290,  454,  560 
Leonard,  A.  B.,  397 

J.  M.,  290,  424,  554,  557,  561, 
565-567 
LesUe's,  164,  250 
Let  Us  Go,  576 
Levites,  479-481 
Lewis,  Bishop,  309 
Lidstone,  I.  H.,  53,  555-557 
Life  Annuity  Bonds,  84,  276,  405 
Light  Brigade,  The,  528 
Lights,  White,  138 
Lincohi,  President,  331 
Literatm-e,  239,  378,  565,  566,  557 
for  Agents,  566 
Resolution,  557   565 
Veteran  Preacher,  The,  566 

Little,  C.  J.,  426 

Lloyd  George,  549 

Loeppert,  A.  J.,  355 

Lohn,  Ein  Wohlverdienter,  355 

Longfellow,  26 

Loomis,  S.  L.,  6,  207,  558 

Lorrman,  Robert,  38 

Lost  Magic,  18 

Louvain  Bells,  18 

Love's  Recompense,  29 

Love  Me  Now,  540 

Loving  Heart,  Way  of,  27 

Lowell,  J.  R.,  495 

Luccock,  Bishop,  295,  311 

Luther,  Martin,  372 

M 

McClure,  A.  J.  P.,  6,  151,  486,  487, 

558,  562 
McConnell,  Bishop,  39,  329,  312, 

320,  567 
McCormack,  W\  R.,  292 


McCoy,  Samuel,  28 
McDermond,  C.  H.,  66 
McDowell,  Bishop,  295,  307,  319, 
324,  329,  331,  556,  557 
W.  L.,  555,  557,  564,  567 
Mcllvaine,  J.  H.,  164 
Mclntyre,  Bishop,  295,  304 
McKibben,  Mrs.  E.  M.,  542 
McKinley,  William,  476 
McKnight,  G.  H.,  491 
McRea,  C.  H.,  406 
MacRossie,  Allan,  557,  565,  567 
Madsen,  H.  K.,  361 
Maddox,  J.  D.,  418 
Mail,  New  York,  250 
Maine,  56 

Mains,  G.  P.,  388,  408,  409,  556 
Man,  The  Happy,  418,  505 
Man  and  His  Money,  445 
Manker,  J.  J.,  395 
Marble,  M.  S.,  328 
Marry?  Should  Ministers,  103 
MarshaU,  W.  K.,  476 
Martin,  Mrs.  C.  D.,  575 

S.  W.,  575 
Mason,  Thomas,  289,  558 
Massachusetts  Old  Age  Pensions, 

257 
Matteson,  W.  B.,  6,  195,  537,  562, 

567 
Mattison,  Seth,  438 
Maveety,  P.  J.,  298 
Mayer,  John,  289,  424 
Meaning,  The  Larger,  568 
MerriU,  Bishop,  303 
Methodist  Advocate-Journal,  395 

Review,  389 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Part 

III,  488,  558 
Methodist    Episcopal   Church, 
South,  6,  183,  558,  562,  564 


r)S  t 


1M)EX 


Methodist  Ministry,  70 
Methodism's    Oldest    Institution, 

413 
MetropoUtan    Church,    333,    555, 

567 
Meyer,  H.  H.,  390,  391 
Michigan  Advocate,  526 
Mile,  The  Second,  549 
Millar,  Perry,  328 
IVIiller,  C.  W.,  67,  558 

Henry,  289 

O.  P.,  291,  328 

R.  T.,  345 

W.  H.,  291,  454,  565 
Mills,  E.  M.,  329,  554,  556 
Ministerial  Annuities,  565 
Ministerial  Pensions.   (See  Church 

Titles) 
Ministerial  Sustentation  and  Re- 
lief, 180,  562 
Ministers,  Aged,  28 

and  Business,  118 

Children,  25,  103 

Demands  on,  69,  206 

Economic  Condition,  206 

Educated,  109 

Efficiency,  39,  49,  348 

and  Family,  35,  58,  61,  103 

and  Horses,  64 

Moral  Force,  56 

Prayer,  574 

Rewards,  68 

Seven  Ages,  131 

Should   They   Marry?  103 

Sons,  546 

Wives,  35,  58,  61,  103,  536,  542 

Work,  105 

Young,  31,  203 
Ministry,  Does  It  Pay?  135 
Missouri,  214 
Mite,  Widow's,  497 


Money,  Making,  for  God,  541 
Monuments,  110 

Montgomery,  J.  S.,  554,  557,  567 
Moore,  Bishop,  295,  305 

Stephen,  549 
More  Excellent  Way,  271 
Morse,  S.  A.,  290,  369,  420,  557, 

558 
Mothers'  Pensions,  251,  256,  259, 

560 
Movement,  Opportune,  326,  327 
Mulfinger,  J.  A.,  324,  428,  351 
Music,  573-576 

N 
Nashville  Advocate,  540 
Nast,  A.  J.,  392 
National  Board — Congregational, 

211 
National  Hotel.  567 
National   Monuments,  110 
Nation's  Debt  to  the  Ministry,  53 
Needs,  172 
Neely,  Bishop,  295,  308,  365,  556, 

559 
Nelson,  C.  J.,  289 
New  Emphasis,  344,  347,  374 
New  Orleans  Picayune,  533 
New  York  City  School  Pensions, 

247 
Fire  Department  Pensions,  552 
New  York  Conference,  419 
New  Zealand  Churches,  222 

Pensions,  257 
News,  Chicago,  260 
Nicholson,  Thomas,  399 
Nickel  for  the  Lord,  543 
Nickerson,  M.  E.,  289 
Nineteen  Fifteen  Campaign.    (See 

Campaign,  1915) 
Nominations,  556 


INDEX 


585 


North  American,  326 
North,  C.  J.,  162,  291,  420 

F.  M.,  397,  426 
Northwestern  Advocate,  393 
Northwestern  Lines,  238 
Norton,  M.  B.,  555 
Norwegian    and    Danish    Confer- 
ences, 361 
Nuelsen,  Bishop,  308,  353 
Nutter,  J.  H.,  289 

O 

Oaten,  C.  R.,  6,  554 
Obhgations  to  Ministry,  53,  193, 

202 
Obsolete  Tales,  523 
Officers,  554 
Ohio  Pensions,  256 
Old  Age,  Benefits  of,  26,  139,  222 

Indian  Summer,  548 

Pensions,  251,  256,  560 

Serene,  142 

and  Youth,  139 
Old  Man  and  Child,  139 
Oldham,  Bishop,  397,  403 
Onesiphorus,  490 
Opinions  of  PubHc  Men,  545 
Organizations — Retired  Ministers, 

558 
Organized  Christianity,  111 
Ox  Muzzled,  482 


Pacific  Advocate,  240,  394 

Packing  Boxes,  542 

Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  89 

Palmer,  A.  J.,  290 

Papers.     (See  titles) 

Parkin,  F.  P.,  367,  557,  559,  560 

Parsons,  W.  A.,  290 

Pastor,  36 


Pastoral  Changes,  186,  421,  556 

Paul,  104,  490 

Paving  Last  Mile,  19 

Pay?  Does  the  Ministry,  138 

Pay  Roll,  Unique,  232 

Payments  Deferred,  467 

Pearce,  L.  A.,  555 

Pennsylvania  Lines,   6,   232,  233, 

494,  561 
Pensions,  Bankers',  245 

Armour  &  Co.,  240,  242 

Baptist,  195 

Canada  Methodists,  418 

Carnegie,  246,  475 

Children's,  251 

CoUege,  246 

Congregational,  206,  212 

Corporations,  242,  244 

Dependable,  79 

Disciples',  213,  215 

Dutch  Reformed,  210 

Fire  Department,  552 

Fund,  161 

Government,  560,  561 

Habit,  250 

Holland,  260 

Illinois,  256 

Industrial,  240 

Methodist  Episcopal,  Part  III 

Methodist  Episcopal,  South, 
183 

Mothers',  251,  256,  259,  560 

Ohio,  256 

Old  Age,  251,  256,  560 

and    Organized    Christianity, 
111   " 

Presbyterian,  165,  488,  548 

Presbyterian,  Southern,  175 

Printers',  240 

Protestant  Episcopal,  151 

Railroads,  494,  551,  561 


)8G 


IXDEX 


Pensions,  Reformed  Church,  219 

Service,  67 

Teachers',  249 

Telephone  and  Telegraph,  240 

U.  S.,  260 

U.  S.  Steel,  240,  242 

Usefulness  of,  207 
Pension  or  Salary,  43,  45 
Perfect  Parson,  104 
Permanency  of  Religion,  115,  560 
Permanent  Fund,  121 
Pet  Me  Now,  540 
Pew,  J.  O.,  6,  241,  244,  328,  561 
Philadelphia  Ledger,  256,  480,  482 

North  American,  326 

Saint  George's  Church,  461 
Pierson,  A.  T.,  89,  149,  479 
Pittsburgh  Advocate,  391 
Pledges  of  Bishops,  300,  323,  342 
Piatt,  Ward,  397 
Pope,  W.  H.,  290,  424 
Post-Mortem      Distribution      of 

Wealth,  261 
Prayer  for  Clergy  Relief,  163 

Veterans',  496,  502 
Preacher,  The,  14 

Circuit,  533 

Forgetful,  116,  402 

Old,  418 

Requisites  of,  78 
Prc^achers  and  Teachers,  49 
President  Wilson,  555 
Presbyterian    Church,    5,    6,    165, 
169,  176,  488,  548,  562,  567, 
568 
Presbyterian    Church    of    U.    S. 
(Southern),  6,   175,   178,  565, 
567 
President,  The,  150,  317,  555,  564 
Press,  327,  480 
Priest,  Arab,  418 


Printers'  Pensions,  240 
Priscilla,  116,  402 
Pritchett,  H.  D.,  48 
Problem  and  Its  Solution,  555 
Program  of  Churches  (see  several 

titles),  225 
Prorating,  443 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,   6, 

151,  558,  562 
Pruen,  J.  W.,  289,  424 
Psalms,  Modern,  496,  501 

Aged  Saint,  496,  502 

Lonely  Soul,  502 

Widowed  Mother,  501 
Pubhcity,  179,  381 
Publishing  Agents,  383,  389,  408 
Puffer,  Isaac,  438 
Puritans,  54 

Q 

Quitting  Too  Soon,  534 

Quayle,  Bishop,  13,  295,  308,  320 

R 

Rabbis,  223 

Race,  J.  H.,  389,  408 

Raihle,  G.,  291,  454 

Railroad   Pensions,    6,    232,    233, 

238,  239,  551,  561 
Rates,   Tables  of  Congregational 

Church,  174,  210,  212 
Presbyterian  Church,  174 
Reformation,  62 

Reformed  Church  (Dutch),  6,  210 
Relief,  169,  176,  197,  562 
Rehgion,  87 
Remsen,  D.  S.,  274 
Renner,  J.  W.,  6,  233,  238,  561 
Representatives,  Conference,  289- 

292 
Requisites  of  the  Preaclier,  78 


INDEX 


587 


Resolutions,  Ammunition  Wagon, 
563 

The  Bishops,  557 

Bishop  Neely,  559 

Campaign  Expenses,  563 

Episcopal  Areas,  562 

Full  Apportionments,  563 

Literature,  565,  566 

Ministerial  Budget,  564 

Other  Chm-ches,  562 

Veterans,  561 
Restored  Rights,  437 
Retirement,  Early,  73,  108 
''Retired    Minister,    The,"    506, 

565 
Retired  Ministers'  Claim,  566 
Retiring  Competency,  31,  39 
Reward,  Well  Earned,  355 
Rice,  W.  A.,  6,  205,  211 

W.  G.,  476 
Rich,  A.  B.,  557,  559 
Rights,  Veterans',  437 
Riper  Youth,  38 
Road  of  Loving  Heart,  27 
Roberts,  W.  W.,  292 
Robinson,  Bishop,  J.  E.,  314 

Bishop  J.  W.,  314 

J.  W.,  291,  420 

Stuart,  117 
Rock  River  Conference,  346 
Roses,  Rain  of,  38 
Roosevelt,  President,  545 
Round  Robin,  Bishops',  301 

Connectional  Officers,  388 
Rowe,  James,  346 
Royal,  T.  F.,  4,  550 
Rural  Problems,  35,  201 


Saddlebags,  4,  412,  550. 
Safe  and  Sane  Wills,  274 


Saint  George's  Church,  461 
Salaries,  20,  43,  45,  259 
Sallenbach,  Edward,  292 
Samoa,  27 

Sangster,  M.  E.,  483 
Sargent,  J.  A.,  290,  420,  557 
Saving  vs.  Efficiency,  43,  560 
Saxe,  J.  G.,  493 
Scatter  the  Flowers,  574 
SchoUert,  E.  T.,  291 
Schmalz,  H.,  292 
School  Pensions,  246,  247 
Scott,  Bishop,  295 
Scribner's,  89 
Serene  Old  Age,  142 
Sermonic  Suggestions,  479 
Service,  Reasons,  67 
Sesqui-Centennial     Jubilee     Gift, 

339 
Settled  Pastors,  73 
Seven  Ages  of  Ministers,  131 
Severts,  H.  H.,  175,  479,  685 
Shafer,  A.  C,  291,  424 
Shepard,  Bishop,  295,  310 
Shepherd,  C.  M.,  290,  420 
Shepherd  Who  Watched,  89 
Sherburne,  L.  O.,  476,  556,  557 
Sheridan,  W.  F.,  400 
Simeon,  140 
Slease,    W.    D.,    291,    375,    377, 

559 
Smith,  Amzi,  23 

Bishop,  295,  304 
Snyder,  C.  M.,  291,  570 

M.  E.,  6,  318,  554 
Sohloquy,  Old  Preacher's,  515 
Songs,  573-576 
"Southern  Methodist,"  549 
Southern  Methodist  Church.    (See 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South) 


588 


INDEX 


Southern     Presbyterian     Church. 

(See  Presbyterian  Church  of 

the  United  States) 
Southwestern  Advocate,  394 
Speak  for  Yourself,  402 
Spencer,  C.  B.,  390,  393 
Springer,  I.  E.,  66 
Square  Deal,  183 
Steel  Pensioners,  475 
Stephens,  Robert,  290,  420,  557 
Stevens,  E.  M.,  289 
Stewart,  J.  R.,  6,   162,   183,  552, 

558,  562 
Stewardship,  Christian,  83,  445 
Stewart,  J.  R.,  6,  183,  552,  558, 

562 
Stevenson,  R.  L.,  27 
Stone,  G.  M.,  61 
Stop!  Look!  Listen!  117 
Story,  The  Cause  in,  504,  572 
Stryker,  Peter,  485,  487 
Summary,  568 
Sun  is  Rising,  The,  576 
Sunday,  Mr.,  327 
Sunday  Schools,  179 
Sunset  Song,  ]  81 
Superannuate,  Story  of,  525 
"Superannuated."     (See  Retired) 
Superannuates,  Homes,  223 
New  Zealand,  222 
Wesleyan,  222 
Superannuation,  23,  133,  143 
Supreme  Claim,  5 
Sustentation,  166,  174 
Sweet,  John,  289,  454 
Sweets,  H.  H.,  6,  85,  175,  178,  565, 

567 
Syracuse,  438 


Task,  Golden,  13 


Tables,  Annuity  Rates,  Congrega- 
tional Church,  212 
German  Conferences,  354 
Industrial  Pensions,  240 
Mothers'  Pensions,  259 
Presbyterian  Church,  210 
Railroad  Pensions,  238 
Teachers'  Pensions,  249 

Talmage,  Dr.,  483 

Taylor,  S.  Earl,  396 

Teachers'  Pensions,  47,  49,  249 

Telephone     and    Telegraph    Co. 
Pensions.  240 

Thanks,  Resolutions,  557 

Theater  Endowment,  164 

Thirkield,  Bishop,  295,  313 

Thomas,  W.  H.,  26,  125 

Times,  New  York,  344 
Washington,  524 

Tiplady,  Thomas,  139 

Tipple,  E.  S.,  131 

Tithes,  479 

Total  Claims,  118,  224 

Touch  of  Vanished  Hand,  218 

Townsend,  G.  A.,  533 

Transue,  J.  L.,  349,  554,  556,  557 

Troland,  218 

Turrel,  Parson,  274 

Two  Men,  258,  332 

Typographical    Union    Pensions, 
240 

U 
Unique  Pay  Roll,  232 
Unity,  162 

Unthinking  Layman,  339 
U.  S.  Steel  Corporation,  240,  475 

V 
Van  Cleve,  J.  W.,  43,  324,  335, 

554,  555,  557,  560 
Van  Dyke,  Hemy,  110 


INDEX 


589 


Van  Treese,  F.  M.,  292,  424 
Vanderbilt,  551 
Vanished  Hand,  218 
Vera  Cruz,  Heroeis,  150 
"Veteran  Preacher,"  6,  121,  373, 

374,  566 
Veterans'  Camp  Fire,  573 

Faces,  194 

God's  Army,  182 

Hand,  218 
Veterans  of  the  Cross,   122,  429, 
439,  497,  559 

Cooper,  122 
Veterans,  Om-,  526 

Rights  Restored,  437 
Vice-Prasident  Fairbanks,  546 
Village  Chapel,  549 

Clergyman,  102 
Vincent,  Bishop,  305 
Voices,  Silent,  303 

W 

Wagon,  Ammunition,  563 
Walden,  Bishop,  303 
Wallace,  J.  J.,  391 
Wanted— Minister's  Wife,  536 
W^arman,  Cy,  138 
Warren,  Bishop,  262,  303 

W.  R.,  6,  213,  215 
Washington  Convention,    5,   315, 
343,  553 

Times,  524 
Watchman,  The,  549 
Watson,  E.  L.,  339,  467,  560 
Way  of  Loving  Heart,  27 
Webb,  Captain,  457,  461 
Welch,  B.  F.,  218 

Mildred,  27,  531 
Welcome  and  Response,  335,  337 
We'll  Do  It,  403 
Well  Earned  Reward,  355 


We  Shall  Win,  329,  556 

Wesley,  438,  455 

Wesleyans,  222 

West  Ohio  Conference,  346 

Western  Advocate,  392 

What  Churches  Are  Doing,  565 

Whatcoat,  Bishop,  448 

White,  O.  A.,  291 

White  Gifts,  216 

White  House,  317 

Whitman,  127 

Whittlesley,  E.,  475 

Williston,  H.,  291 

Who  Forgets?  529 

Why  a  Service  Pension?  558 

Why  Do  We  Wait?  146 

Why  Don't  You  Speak?  402 

Widow's  Fund,  219 

Mite,  498 
Widowhood,  201,  502 
Wilding,  G.  S.,  291,  454,  553 
WilHam's  Superannuation,  143 
Wills,  84,  188,  262,  263 

Better  than,  274 

Horton,  263 

Make  Influence  Immortal,  213 

Notes  on,  274 

Remsen,  274 

Uncertain,  460 
Wilson,  Bishop  A.  W.,  484 

Bishop  Luther  B.,  295,  307 

Clarence  True,  401 

President,    150,   317,  318,   555, 
564 
Win,  We  Shall,  329 
Wives,  Ministers',  21,  64 
Wohlverdienter  Lohn,  Ein,  355 
Women's  Societies,  179 
Work,  Minister,  105 
Workmen,  Two,  258 
Worn-Out  Preachers,  191 


590 


TXDEX 


Worth  It?  514 
Wortman,  D.,  6,  108,  219 
Wythe,  J.  H.,  289 


Youker,  J.  C,  6,  554 
Young,  Herman,  359,  5G0 

Minister,  181,  203,  545 

Pooi)le,  113 


Yoimgstown  Steel  Co.,  6,  244 
Youth  and  Age,  139 

Call  to,  33 

Riper,  38 
Youth's  Companion,  198,  406,  489 

Z 

Zaring,  E.  R.,  390,  393 
Zimmerman,  H.,  292 
Zion's  Herald,  383,  558 


ILLI^STRATIONS 


Adams,  B.  F.,  390 
Anderson,  Bishop,  295 

T.  H.,  333 
Andrus,  J.  E.,  328 
Applegate,  Stedman,  251,  420 

Baldwin,  C.  W.,  328 
Banker  and  Farmer,  279-288 
Bass,  E.  C,  454 
Bauchop,  F.  E.,  454 
Beans,  W.  K.,  454 
Berry,  Bishop,  295,  325 
Bilbie,  H.  G.,  476 
Birney,  L.  J.,  31 
Bishops,  295 
BisseU,  J.  W.,  454 
Borland,  R.  S.,  454 
Bronson,  E.  H.,  476 
Brown,  C.  C,  515 

G.  W.,  328 
Brummitt,  D.  B.,  390 
Buckley,  J.  M.,  390 
Burt,  Bishop,  295 

Cain,  J.  W.,  424 
Calkins,  H.  L.,  445 
Campbell,  Marvin,  79,  324 
Christmas  Babe,  96 
Clemans,  E.  C,  324,  421 
Collins,  H.  A.,  279,  505 
John,  424 


Cooke,  Bishop,  111,  295 
Cooper,  V.  A.,  429 
Cranston,  Bishop,  295,  321 
Crosby,  Fanny,  29 
Crowned  Veterans,  194 

Dean,  W.  H.,  363 
Dorion,  E.  C.  E.,  328,  383 
Downey,  D.  G.,  390  • 

Eckman,  G.  P.,  390 

Foulkes,  W.  H.,  165,  501 

Gibson,  J.  B.,  454 
Gilbert,  Levi,  390 
Graham,  E.  R.,  408 
Green,  J.  B.,  420 

T.  R.,  424 
Greenfield,  S.  J,  415,  420 

Hamilton,  Bishop,  295 

James,  328,  425 
Happy  Man,  504 
Hartung,  George,  454 
Hartwell,  C.  S.,  247 
Hartzell,  Bishop,  295 
Henderson,  Bishop,  295 
Higgins,  D.  J.,  134 
Hingeley,  Ezra,  3 

J.  B.,  117,  225,  324 
Hitchcock,  Elwm,  413,  476 


INDEX 


591 


Hopkins,  G.  F.,  424 
Horton,  O.  H,  263,  324 
Hughes,  Bishop,  295 

J.  S.,  461,  476 

R.  H.,  390 

W.  H.,  476 
Humphrey,  U.  G.,  420 

Jaeobs,  H.  L.,  476 
James,  J.  H.,  66 
Jennings,  H.  C,  408 
Johnston,  J.  W.,  455' 

Iveeney,  F.  T.,  19,  435 
Kelley,  C.  A.,  420 

W.  v.,  390 
Kendrick,  J.  C,  424 
Kepler,  G.  W.,  420 
Koons,  W.  G.,  454 
Krantz,  John,  451 

Larkin,  F.  M.,  390 
Lathrop,  E.  R.,  66,  476 
Leete,  Bishop,  295 
Lennox,  L.  E.,  454 
Leonard,  J.  M.,  424 
Lidstone,  I.  H.,  53 
Life  Annuity  Bond,  277 
Loomis,  S.  L.,  207 
Luccock,  Bishop,  295 

McClm-e,  A.  J.  P.,  151 
McConnell,  Bishop,  39 
McDermond,  C.  H.,  66 
McDowell,  Bishop,  295,  324,  329 
Mclntyre,  Bishop,  295 
McKinley,  Wilham,  476 
Madsen,  H.  K.,  361 
Mains,  G.  P.,  408,  409 
Marble,  M.  S.,  328 
Marshall,  W.  K.,  476 
Matteson,  W.  B.,  195 


Mayer,  John,  424 
Meyer,  H.  H.,  390 
Millar,  Perry,  328 
Miller,  C.  W.,  67 

O.  P.,  328 

W.  H.,  454 
Moore,  Bishop,  295 
Morse,  S.  A.,  369,  420 
Mulfinger,  J.  A.,  324,  351 

Neely,  Bisho]),  295,  365 
North,  C.  J.,  420 

Oldham,  Bishop,  403 

Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  89 

Parkin,  F.  P.,  367 

Pennsylvania   Railroad   \Vterans, 

232 
Pew,  J.  O.,  241,  328 
Pope,  W.  H.,  424 
Pruen,  J.  W.,  424 

Quayle,  Bishop,  13,  295 

Race,  J.  H.,  408 
Raihle,  G.,  454 
Renner,  J.  W.,  233 
Rice,  W.  A.,  205 

W.  C,  476 
Robinson,  J.  W.,  420 
Royal,  T.  F.,  4,  550 

Saddlebags,  4,  412 
Sargent,  J.  A.,  420 
Schafer,  A.  G.,  424 
Scott,  Bishop,  295 
Shepard,  Bishop,  295 
Shepherd,  C.  M.,  420 
Shepherd  That  Watched,  100 
Sherbm-ne,  L.  O.,  476 
Slease,  W.  L.,  375,  476 
Smith,  Bishop,  295 


599 


INDEX 


Spencer,  C.  B.,  390 
Springer,  I.  E.,  66 
Stephens,  Robert,  420 
Stewart,  J.  R.,  162 
Stone,  G.  M.,  61 
Sweet,  John,  454 
Sweets,  H.  H.,  85,  175 

Thirkield,  Bishop,  295 
Tliomas,  W.  H.,  26,  125 
Tiplady,  Thomas,  139 
Tipple,  E.  S.,  131 
Transue,  J.  L.,  349 


Van  Cleve,  J.  W.,  43,  324 
Van  Treese,  F.  M.,  424 

Warren,  W.  R.,  213 
Watson,  E.  L.,  467 
Wilding,  G.  C.,  454 
Wilson,  Bishop,  295 
Workmen,  Two,  258 
Wortman,  Denis,  219 

"SOung,  Herman,  359 

Zaring,  E.  R.,  390 


DATE  DUE 

«>S««P^ 

■■     ^^mm... 

C*YLOSO 

m^NTCOINU.S.A. 

